Team Haas runs out of Energy
DEBACLE: CARS TO KEEP GOLD AND BLACK LIVERY AFTER DRINKS COMPANY PULLS THE PLUG
Rumours that new qualifying format has been agreed on for next year.
Sponsorship plays a huge role in motorsport, with the level of investment always relative to the marketing exposure the sponsor receives.
When you reach international races with huge television audiences that level of exposure requires a large investment from the sponsor. But on occasions some get great exposure for minimal expenditure. A case in point is the situation of Haas F1 and Rich Energy.
Haas F1 and its so-called title sponsor Rich Energy have officially parted company.
This season has not been an easy ride for Haas. The initial hype of the VF-19 in the gold and black livery reminiscent of the John Player Special Lotus appeared to mark the start of a new era for the team, but the euphoria was soon dispelled.
Rich Energy’s logo was a stag’s head that happened to be identical to the copyrighted logo of British company Whyte Bikes. They took legal action and won a case of copyright infringement resulting in the removal of the stag’s head from the Haas cars.
It gets worse.
Just before the British Grand Prix in July the Rich Energy’s official Twitter account posted that the company had terminated its agreement with Haas due to the team’s “poor performance” – apparently written by an unauthorised rogue.
After the Italian Grand Prix Haas F1 stated: “Haas F1 Team and Rich Energy have amicably agreed to end their partnership in Formula 1 with immediate effect.
“While enjoying significant exposure through its title partnership of Haas F1 Team, a corporate restructuring process at Rich Energy will see the need for a revised global strategy.
“Subsequently, Haas F1 and Rich Energy concluded a termination of the existing partnership was the best way forward.”
So after just 14 races the troubled partnership is over, posing questions whether Haas had actually received any major financial remuneration from the energy drinks company.
The team has confirmed that they would retain the black and gold livery until the end of the season, sans any branding of their former partner.
Prior to this debacle I had never heard of Rich Energy, but the drinks company certainly reached world markets with the publicity surrounding the weirdest partnership deal ever. Perhaps circus owner PT Barnum was right when he said: “There is no such thing as bad publicity.”
Happier news is that Williams and Mercedes have confirmed the extension of their agreement regarding power units. This is most encouraging when you consider the current form of the Williams team with just one point on the log so far this season.
The new agreement will take the team through to the end of the 2025 F1 season. Things can only get better.
Rumours are that a new format has been agreed for qualifying next year.
This follows on from Ross Brawn’s proposal of Saturday’s current three session timed laps being replaced by a 100km race replacing Q3 to decide the grid positions for Sunday’s main event.
After a recent meeting of the F1 Strategy Group, it was reported that Mattia Binotto, Ferrari team principal, had informed Gazetta
dello Sport that all teams had approved the move.
Apparently this would only occur at specific tracks, particularly those where overtaking is difficult.
However Speed Week’s Mathias Brunner does not agree as a format vote concerning the change has yet to be held. He is reported as saying: “It is possible that a qualifying Grand Prix will come, but it’s not decided yet.”
So has the Italian let the cat out of the bag? Only time will tell.
This Sunday sees the 15th round of the 2019 championship, the Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, the first track in F1 history to stage a night race back in 2008.
Running a nocturnal round means that television viewers in Europe can watch the live broadcast at a more convenient time.
The circuit has produced good results for today’s top three teams, Mercedes with four wins, Red Bull with three and Ferrari on two.
Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton head the driver victories for Singapore, Vettel with three for Red Bull and one for Ferrari, and Hamilton taking three for Mercedes and one for McLaren-Mercedes.
Charles Leclerc faced the Singapore street circuit for the first time last season and brought his Sauber home in ninth.
After his back to back wins at Spa and Monza, all eyes will be on the young Monegasque but it is liable to be a difficult weekend for the Maranello team.
The circuit is one of the slowest on the calendar and so far this year the Mercedes W10 appears to handle the tighter, slower tracks far better than Ferrari’s SF90.
Expect a real battle with the Red Bulls strongly in the mix.