Haas energy drink sponsor sets sights on Red Bull on and off track

Rich Energy CEO William Storey wants Haas to challenge Red Bull on the track while his own brand takes on the energy drink giant outside of Formula 1.

Storey has signed a title partnership deal with Haas that officially makes the team Rich Energy Haas F1 Team, and wants to use F1 to increase exposure for his company. With Red Bull the leading brand in the energy drinks market in terms of sales and having an F1 team that won four races last season, Storey says the target is to mount a challenge on both fronts.

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“We’re absolutely over the moon to be in Formula 1,” Storey said at the unveiling of the new Haas livery. “It’s the perfect platform for our brand. We’re looking forward to taking Red Bull on both on and off the track and challenging them.

“We’ve found the perfect partner in Haas who I believe are the best-run team on the grid, and we’ve got an awful lot in common as organizations. We’re very proud that it’s the next stage of our development as a company and this is almost day one of chapter two in Rich Energy.”

The new Haas livery features Rich Energy's black and gold colors, and Storey is hopeful increased commercial success will ensure it’s a long-term partnership.

“I think we’ve already beaten them, we’ve got a better-looking car, that’s a bit biased there. We’re expanding very quickly, we’re taking a huge amount of business from them. Some of the biggest drinks distributors in Europe are de-listing Red Bull now, and I think our results will start to speak for themselves.

"Formula 1’s a wonderful platform for us. We’re with the best-run team in my opinion, and equally importantly, lovely people. We’re delighted to work with Haas and we want to do it on a very long-term basis.”

Storey attempted to purchase Force India -- now Racing Point -- last season and was later in discussions with a number of teams about sponsorship, but Haas proved to be the standout option to partner with.

“We actually tried to get into Formula 1 over the last 18 months. We tried to buy Force India -- that was an interesting story -- but ultimately we then spoke to a variety of teams and we felt that Haas were head and shoulders above the competition in almost every metric. We’re really excited about the future and I think we’re going to achieve a lot together.

“By every metric they were vastly superior, in terms of they’ve got the best business model in the sport; they’re uniquely positioned to exploit regulation changes; I think they’re run in a very, very unpretentious fashion; they’re proper racers; I think Gene Haas is a wonderful businessman who’s approaching motor racing in the right way; a brilliant team principal and they’ve got two drivers with personality which I think is superb. So overall we’re delighted.”