Rich Energy founder William Storey has claimed that the energy drink brand will be returning to Formula One as a sponsor this year with a “strategic ally” which has purchased a majority stake in a team.
Storey didn’t specify which team they will be returning with, but he claimed they would become the racing outfit’s title sponsor in 2022.
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“I’m delighted to announce that Rich Energy is coming back to Formula 1,” Storey said in a video message posted on Twitter on Sunday.
“Unfortunately, due to poor performance on and off the track [in 2019], regrettably I had to sack Haas.
“In the last year, we’ve worked incredibly hard to lead a renaissance of Rich Energy worldwide where millions of consumers are trying our drink.
“Since leaving Formula 1 I have worked very diligently to engineer a return and I have noticed that there is actually a new financial reality in Formula 1.
“With terrestrial TV no longer really being prevalent and a paywall of viewers, instead of 10 or 12 million people watching Formula 1 on BBC or ITV, it is actually a few hundred thousand on Sky.
“Subsequent damage which that has done to sponsorship has meant that there are a number of different teams [in financial trouble]. For example, McLaren have done the sale and lease back of their Woking technology centre, and Williams were in financial problems until they were bailed out by our friends at Dorilton Capital.
“And obviously even Haas have now had to go for pay drivers because of their weak financial position.
“So I’ve been looking for a way in which Rich Energy could return optimally both for us and to help the team that we are going to work with.
“A strategic ally of Rich Energy has agreed to purchase a majority stake in an existing team. We did explore with the new regulations actually entering our own team for 2022, which would be Rich Energy Formula 1 Team.
“But a friend of ours has agreed a deal for a majority stake in a Formula 1 team, and we will become a partner of that team for 2021. Once that acquisition is announced, we will become the title sponsor for 2022.
“I’m really looking forward to competing with our competitors on-track, I’ll be at the first race, March 28, in Bahrain,” he concluded.
Rich Energy was the title sponsor of the Haas F1 Team for the American racing outfit’s 2019 campaign, but this agreement was terminated mid-season due to “poor performance”, according to Storey.
Last month, the energy drink brand claimed it would be returning to Formula One this year, without providing further details.
It remains to be seen if Storey’s latest announcement is yet another publicity stunt or genuine news of their return to the pinnacle of motorsport.
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