Haas will undergo a “significant livery change” for the 2019 F1 season after announcing a title sponsorship deal with Rich Energy.
Team principal Guenther Steiner described the deal as “another milestone moment in the development of Haas F1 Team.”“It’s going to be exciting for us as a team to be the focal point of Rich Energy’s marketing endeavors, as we go into both new and existing consumer markets around the world in Formula One.”
The energy drink brand had previously been linked to Force India and Williams.
Rich Energy CEO William Storey said the deal with Haas will allow them to “deliver an exciting concept for the promotion of Rich Energy to the consumer.”
“Formula One is a premium product in its own right,” he added, “and our partnership with Haas F1 Team ensures we have a prized asset on which to build our global marketing efforts.”
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2018 F1 season
- Honda’s jet division helped F1 engineers solve power unit problem
- McLaren Racing losses rise after Honda split
- Ricciardo: Baku “s***show” was Red Bull’s fault
- “Drive to Survive Episode 1: All to Play For” reviewed
- F1’s television and social media audiences rose last year
Joao (@johnmilk)
25th October 2018, 14:21
well that’s rich
BasCB (@bascb)
25th October 2018, 14:24
Exactly. With the great substance behind the “rich” brand it really reminds me of the likes of Thieme, Onyx, Andra Moda and their ilk.
nase
25th October 2018, 14:27
Not to forget Sauber’s 1993 ‘Broker’ sponsorship.
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
25th October 2018, 15:21
Going by this picture, maybe we finally get some gray on the grid! Damn i’m pumped!!
Joao (@johnmilk)
25th October 2018, 16:03
I read that soooo wrong
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
25th October 2018, 16:16
Well you know who might be curious at least
Trocadero
25th October 2018, 15:34
Have a look at Rich Energy published “Tota Exemption full accounts at Companies House for September 2017,
Rich Energy Accounts
I am not sure how this company can sponsor anything as it appears to be an empty shell.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
25th October 2018, 14:24
Curious. Most of F1 (and F1’s teams) have dismissed Rich as a fake, farcical, empty promise, a company which barely exists to produce something yet has enough money to try and buy Force India… Most teams said thanks but no thanks. Are Haas in such dire straights, or do they know something we don’t?
Phylyp (@phylyp)
25th October 2018, 14:30
+1 to your question, @hahostolze
ColdFly (@)
25th October 2018, 14:31
Quite impressed that Rich was able to get in the news without having done any real advertising (or I didn’t spot it).
Who knows they might use this as well as a way to get some press and squeeze out when they have to cough up the dough, @hahostolze.
Tarheelpup
25th October 2018, 14:38
“Energy Drinks” are soda without the fizz anyway. That entire market segment is based on a lie. F1 teams are finding it harder and harder to bring in sponsorship. If they’ve got cash they want to spend I think it’s great that Haas is willing to take it. And if it turns out the company is a money laundering scheme, Haas can plead ignorance and move on to the next sponsor.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th October 2018, 14:38
@hahostolze To be fair if multiple teams were in the running and Haas offered the most for the least, that’s just how business works. First McLaren and Coca-Cola, now this, if more new sponsors want to show their logos in F1 that’s a good thing. The teams certainly need the cash.
And we all know how good black and gold can look on a racing car.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
25th October 2018, 14:42
@keithcollantine I am sorry Keith, with all deference to you and your reporting, but no. Multiple teams were linked and clearly decided they were better off without them. The judge didn’t find Rich’s bid for Force India even remotely feasible or realistic. That says a lot. They are full of hot air. This will go badly somewhere along the line.
As for McLaren and Coke, most are reporting that deal as tiny, barely worth a press release let alone the big fanfare it was given. It’s a water brand nobody has heard of. It’s small peanuts. Struggling F1 teams are blowing things up even though the value is nothing
tonyyeb (@tonyyeb)
25th October 2018, 14:52
@hahostolze Why can’t it be the other way around? Could it not easily be that Rich weren’t happy with what was offered for the money they were putting up?
tonyyeb (@tonyyeb)
25th October 2018, 15:53
@hahostolze https://www.motorsportweek.com/joesaward/id/00326?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
You are implying that Haas haven’t done their due diligence on their new title sponsors:
“Having said that there must be money behind Storey if Haas has agreed a deal, as normally announcements would not be made without money changing hands.”
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
25th October 2018, 15:59
@tonyyeb yes, that’s what I am saying. I’m a corporate lawyer. I know that due diligence means nothing at times. The same Joe Saward was saying the exact same thing in earlier articles. Assuming that Haas have been in talks with Rich Energy since before the US GP, but the decision was only made after the US GP where we saw them also talking to Williams, then how do you think their due diligence was? I will tell you: next to nothing. The Saward quote you mention doesn’t mean what you think it means. It means there will have been a downpayment, maybe 5 or 10 percent. Do you really think Rich paid their entire amount up front? And, to refer you back to my earlier argument, with what money? Look at their Companies House account, they don’t have it. So it’s borrowed money. If a company needs to borrow money to sponsor an F1 team, their strategy becomes abundantly clear. Heck, even the gridwalk footage with Claire Williams will have given them 50k in google hits. Rich are hoping this partnership starts something real in terms of name recognition, which will start sales, which will lead to money, which will pay their Haas deal. A doomed scenario.
tonyyeb (@tonyyeb)
25th October 2018, 16:01
@hahostolze I guess time will tell.
BasCB (@bascb)
25th October 2018, 20:53
I tend to agree with you on that @hahostolze. This seems more like putting a scheme out there hoping to pull in money than a serious company that is already established.
Robbie (@robbie)
25th October 2018, 14:53
“It’s a water brand nobody has heard of.” So isn’t that exactly why one would want to market it with a global entity such as F1?
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
25th October 2018, 14:56
@tonyyeb It could, but it isn’t.
@robbie very true, but marketing also works both ways. If it’s a nothing brand of a big conglomerate, which the big conglomerate wants to promote, there is a massive discount on it, because nobody will associate it with Coke. Hence it was announced as Coke and for one race was actually Coca-Cola, and from the next race it’s some nothing brand. This made McLaren seem like they had a big fish when it actually wasn’t. Or to put it simply: Coca-Cola will pay a lot more to put Coca-Cola on a car than to put water brand X on a car.
tonyyeb (@tonyyeb)
25th October 2018, 14:57
@hahostolze How do you know it isn’t?
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
25th October 2018, 15:00
@tonyyeb because you’re expecting F1 teams like Williams, who are currently being sponsored by Unilever and JCB and being linked to BWT, to ignore those bluechip companies and go for the option which is being put up by a company they fully well know is not actually turning out revenue because their product is nowhere. Williams aren’t crazy. It’s the same reason that Rich’s offer for FI was rebuffed: sure they probably had the cash to do it, but neither the revenue nor the platform to sustain it.
tonyyeb (@tonyyeb)
25th October 2018, 15:07
@hahostolze If that’s true then why would they be publicly seen together walking the grid in the US if they knew all this to start with? I’d not heard of BWT or any of their products before their FI involvement. Buying an entire F1 team along with settling its debts is so far away from being a sponsor. Sorry but you haven’t actually given any evidence to support your scenario. Not saying it might not turn out to be the case but at the moment it is all hearsay and opinion rather than fact.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
25th October 2018, 15:10
@tonyyeb I mean, you can check Rich Energy’s accounts with Companies House, as I have. You tell me that they seem like a feasible title sponsor. And seriously, if you think my arguments above are hearsay but you think a gridwalk is solid evidence, I might a well give up.
anon
25th October 2018, 18:58
@hahostolze, as you say, and as others have noted, the company behind this has been long on talk, but short on sales – the very fact that the company is officially classed as a “small company” under the Companies Act indicates that it either has a turnover below £10 million a year, a balance sheet worth less than £5 million or fewer than 50 employees (it is a small company if it meets at least two of those criteria).
Now, we know from their balance sheets that they seem to be worth less than £5 million, so it suggests that they probably have a turnover of less than £10 million or a headcount of less than 50 (probably both) – this is a tiny organisation that is closer in size to a modest family business.
@tonyyeb, the comparison you have drawn with BWT only emphasises the point that hahostolze has been making. Whilst Rich Energy are earning less than £10 million a year and has fewer than 50 employees, BWT’s financial accounts reported they have a turnover of €610 million and employs around 3300 people – the drinks division is just part of a major multi-national company that is around 50 to 100 times the size of Rich Energy.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
26th October 2018, 3:38
@hahostolze – thank you for pointing us (non-UK folks) towards Companies House. Very convincing argument you make there – a comparison of the details for Monster Energy (for example) and Rich Energy does call out the differences you’re alluding to (in terms of financial filings, and officers registered). Save for the fact that the officers for Rich Energy are not obscured by a legal structure, I’d have thought this was a shell company.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th October 2018, 16:43
@hahostolze Perhaps but I wouldn’t make that assumption. As Christian Horner said just last week:
nase
25th October 2018, 16:55
I must’ve missed the part where Horner played nicely on the outside. I guess I blinked or something.
OOliver
25th October 2018, 18:17
By the way, has that money turned up from that dude who wanted to by Lotus from Genni?
They were all over the news at one point.
Dale
26th October 2018, 0:01
I agree.
Prediction is that this ‘partnership’ ends abruptly before the end of it’s term, & surrounded by some sort of controversy.
BasCB (@bascb)
25th October 2018, 15:01
Sure, it is good if there are brands coming in. Let’s hope their money is there. And at least Gene Haas will be able to make up the budget difference if it does not turn up.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
25th October 2018, 15:07
The only reason I’m being so cynical here is precisely because I want F1 teams to thrive and for the sport to weed out the shady. Even this decade how many dodgy people have made grand promises to F1 teams that ended up costing them dearly?
BasCB (@bascb)
25th October 2018, 15:55
Yup.
Ok, I just saw this posted by Storey about a Billionaire, mr. David Sullivan taking a share in the brand, that could help make sure there is money to pay for things? (thanks to twitter: https://twitter.com/Karol296/status/1055469769946816513 )
JackB
25th October 2018, 23:14
“Williams and Force India didn’t want them so they must not be legit”
So… because a back marker who has plenty of talent and money, yet can’t get off the back of the grid, and a mid-field team who went bankrupt and were run by a con man, didn’t get a deal done with Rich Energy, that must mean Rich energy isn’t a legit company? How can you say that, and suggest that Gene Haas, a self made billionaire who runs multiple very successful racing teams in different motorsport categories, doesn’t know how to do his due diligence on who he does business with? Also the “I’m a lawyer” appeal to authority is completely empty after making such ridiculous claims. All you’re saying essentially is you are not very good at critical thinking, which suggests you’d probably not be great at your job.
Fast (@fast)
26th October 2018, 2:03
@hahostolze – all good intel, above. and everyone else also… My take on Rich is that they are backed by Diageo, in a reverse pay to play kind of deal, for an exclusivity on the pouring rights to mix their spirits with the drink. That looks to be the prime market & the formula is specific to exclude excess sugar, which is what makes, for example, a redbull or monster and vodka too health hazardous, in addition to being a sector that those companies have steadily moved away from. That’s why they went after Force India, at first, to also try and recoup some of the loans made to Mallya. The marketing will be to a nite-club audience along the lines of a Rich & Smirnoff, on the rocks. etc. Similar to a (7&7) 7-Up with Seagrams 7 Whiskey (which is now also owned by Diageo), ironically. It looks like hardened Haas with Ferrucci still a development driver has no qualms on making such a deal – even when Claire, as tempted as she was, couldn’t.
budchekov (@budchekov)
25th October 2018, 16:28
If it looks as good as the ‘teases’ now appearing online you’re right Keith, it looks bloody marvelous.
svianna (@svianna)
25th October 2018, 23:20
Indeed, Keith, indeed. This one being the first, as far as I remember.
Adam (@rocketpanda)
25th October 2018, 14:33
So it’ll be primarily black, gold trim with red bits… so basically the Lotus from a few years ago?
I’ve never seen Rich Energy drinks on sale before. I don’t even know what flavour it is. Where do they get their money from?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th October 2018, 14:40
@rocketpanda
Me either. According to the press release:
ColdFly (@)
25th October 2018, 14:50
What would make it ‘luxury” ?
.
a sugary drink does require any ‘certification’, so the ‘highest available’ means nothing.
ColdFly (@)
25th October 2018, 14:51
*doesn’t require
Adam (@rocketpanda)
25th October 2018, 14:51
@keithcollantine
‘Clean crisp taste and high performance’
… but what IS the taste? How can they advertise a drink but don’t tell you what flavour it is? Someone has to ask Steiner, Grosjean or Magnussen that question as the company themselves don’t seem to want to tell anyone!
BasCB (@bascb)
25th October 2018, 15:03
Who knows whether they actually sell the stuff (yet?) @rocketpanda
Derek Edwards
25th October 2018, 15:48
Presumably the Grosjean edition will taste like w(h)ine while the taste of the Magnussen edition will change markedly at the very last moment.
ColdFly (@)
25th October 2018, 16:04
the Magnussen edition will taste like ‘sucking balls’.
Joao (@johnmilk)
25th October 2018, 16:09
so it won’t taste like balls? Good good
Joao (@johnmilk)
25th October 2018, 16:11
@coldfly not sure if we qualify as smart minds thinking alike, or fools not differing
nase
25th October 2018, 16:36
@johnmilk Do you want an honest or a polite answer to that? :P
Joao (@johnmilk)
25th October 2018, 16:54
I’m a fool for honesty @nase
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th October 2018, 16:40
@rocketpanda
I guess it tastes like crisps…
Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
25th October 2018, 17:18
Smokey brakin’
Bob C.
25th October 2018, 19:23
Albatross! It’s a bleedin’ sea bird . .. it’s not any bleedin’ flavour. Albatross!
Sorry – our national TV station is in the middle of a re-run of the complete Monty Python, and I just couldn’t help myself.
Don’t get up. I’ll see myself out.
anon-e moss
25th October 2018, 19:46
How can they advertise a drink but don’t tell you what flavour it is?
What does a RedBull taste like? How about Johnny Walker or Heinikin? People have been advertising stuff for years without a full description of flavour.
Joao (@johnmilk)
25th October 2018, 22:42
Cherry, whisky, and the last one, while tough I will go with fermented cereals
GeeMac (@geemac)
25th October 2018, 14:47
Well that’s a shock, I had assumed they would be getting into bed with Williams. I’m not entirely sure this makes sense for Haas (though I’m sure it makes financial sense): the point of the team is to market Gene’s machine tools, why share your marketing platform with a (dubious) energy drink company?
tonyyeb (@tonyyeb)
25th October 2018, 14:54
@geemac Is that assumption based on Clare Williams walking the US grid with William Storey?
GeeMac (@geemac)
25th October 2018, 15:12
Well, yeah @tonyyeb. And these two “Storeys”…
https://www.racefans.net/2018/10/22/paddock-diary-united-states-grand-prix-day-four/
https://www.motorsportweek.com/joesaward/id/00325
WeatherManNX01
25th October 2018, 15:00
Haas is getting money to boost their move up the grid. This is highly significant for an independent team that is considered to be among the “best of the rest” right now.
BasCB (@bascb)
25th October 2018, 15:06
It is a bit curious, isn’t it @geemac? It’s not as if they could easily be seen as complimentary since Haas’ customers are corporate customers while the energy drink is targetted to who knows, peope who like things like Billionaire clothing and promote themselves like the Kardashians since the prices are so outrageous nobody else than an already rich person can afford them and the branding seems so tacky
Phylyp (@phylyp)
25th October 2018, 18:28
@bascb @bernasaurus – Indeed. That style of gradient and bevelled/3D look was in vogue something like two decades ago on amateur websites!
@partsguy20 – Damn you. Now I cannot unsee that.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
25th October 2018, 14:59
I dunno where their money comes from, but someone spent at least 20mins on Microsoft Publisher to make that logo.
Rick D. (@partsguy20)
25th October 2018, 16:13
That made me laugh! That logo is pretty awful, isn’t it? Is it even symmetrical?
Also, it bothers me that the two “E”‘s in ENERGY are different. But I guess since it’ll be displayed on Grosjean’s car, inconsistency fits pretty well.
James (@knewman)
25th October 2018, 15:35
Don’t much care for energy drinks, but excited to see the refreshed livery!
budchekov (@budchekov)
25th October 2018, 15:41
How can it be any worse than a drink that rots your teeth and makes you fat?
PS..always drink the Mexican Coke in bottles..it has real sugar. :)
budchekov (@budchekov)
25th October 2018, 15:57
@James.. Nice one!
Thomas Bennett (@felipemassadobrasil)
25th October 2018, 16:27
‘Major livery change’, so they’ll go from light grey to dark grey. Wow.
bosyber (@bosyber)
25th October 2018, 17:27
With some gold accents, most likely @felipemassadobrasil, don’t forget those gold accents :)
Thomas Bennett (@felipemassadobrasil)
25th October 2018, 16:28
Sorry, they’ll have gold on too like JPS lotus. Fair enough.
wobs
25th October 2018, 16:47
I work in the energy drinks industry, Rich Energy have money now, the key word being NOW. They have tiny distribution at the moment, distribution is the life blood in beverages, their marketing to date has been SO poor, check out their social media, its genuinely terrible, not something a brand who now title sponsor an F1 team would produce. Its a nothing brand and most likely will never be, certainly not the next Red Bull. Bit sad to see Haas partner with them.
budchekov (@budchekov)
25th October 2018, 16:56
I’m reminded of Thunder Muscle, from The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret….
Phylyp (@phylyp)
25th October 2018, 18:29
Good to hear from someone in that industry.
Miani (@miani)
25th October 2018, 16:48
I can’t put in words how amateur and horrible this logo is. It looks like someone picked a random symbol on google and a free font and then put both together.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
25th October 2018, 18:30
@miani – No – the logo shows how one’s ureters will look after regular consumption of energy drinks :-). They’re honest, I’ll give them that.
Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
25th October 2018, 17:20
I always thought this Rich Energy business was claptrap. A quick check on Companies House show they don’t have the revenue to be playing this game.
Colour me skeptical
Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
25th October 2018, 17:23
And I’ve never seen a can of the stuff. I’ve been Jason Plato’s KX on the shelves at Tesco, I’ve even seen Kubica juice from time to time, but never Rich Energy
socksolid (@socksolid)
25th October 2018, 18:54
This reminds me of the indian guy who used to stroll around the paddock. I think he was saying he would buy the lotus team. Internet detectives then found out his business address belonged to some dingy pizza place and he was full of… brown matter. I’m not saying this is the same or different. Could just be that they are using f1 to launch their product.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
25th October 2018, 19:04
@socksolid – any chance you have a name? It would be a fun blast from the past to read stories from the day.
socksolid (@socksolid)
25th October 2018, 21:19
@phylyp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansoor_Ijaz
https://www.grandprix247.com/2014/01/20/mansoor-ijaz-separating-truth-from-fiction-on-lotus-and-formula-1/
https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/1qqqjz/why_the_lotus_deal_is_a_fantasy_who_are_quantum/
https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/2wv8gz/the_whole_mansoor_ijazquantum_thing/
have fun :)
Phylyp (@phylyp)
25th October 2018, 21:46
@socksolid – thank you very much!
From reddit:
I’m struck by how applicable these questions are to Rich Energy!
PT (@pt)
25th October 2018, 20:12
Energy drink sponsorship in motorsports is equivalent to tobacco sponsorship back in the 80s and 90s. It’s everywhere!
Jimmi Cynic (@jimmi-cynic)
25th October 2018, 20:13
Rumour is… at each race, Haas will be receiving 170 grams of Rich luxury sugar in lieu of cash payments. This is expected to give K-Mag the extra boost required at certain troublesome tracks.
Robert McKay
25th October 2018, 21:00
I’m no expert but title sponsorship is surely still a lot cheaper than actually buying and running a team. So this makes *somewhat* more sense that buying Force India.