Haas F1 boss Guenther Steiner says that the team's new title sponsorship is the biggest deal of its kind done by the team since it joined Formula 1 in 2016.
It was announced on Thursday that British energy drink company Rich Energy will be Haas' title partner from 2019 in a multi-year arrangement.
“It’s our biggest deal up to now,” Steiner told Crash.net in an exclusive interview this week. "It shows what we are doing here is recognised from people outside."
The team has found it difficult to attract on-car sponsorship since joining the world championship. It's had to rely instead on the deep pockets of its founder Gene Haas, but has also been working hard to bring new partners onboard.
"The first year is always difficult to get sponsors," Steiner acknowledged. "You have to prove yourself.
"Then you get approached, but it’s for very low numbers because they think you are cheap. We decided not to do that.
"Now we are in three years the Haas F1 name is I think pretty well-established, I think everybody would agree to that," he continued. “Everyone knows what Haas F1 is, which in the beginning it wouldn’t have been if we had another brand in it."
Steiner said that the deal had gone through surprisingly quickly once talks had begun.
Rich Energy had previously approached Vijay Mallya about buying out the Force India team. However those talks went no where, amid concerns that the company didn't have the cash reserves to save the squad from insolvency and keep it competitive.
Force India was subsequently bought by a consortium led by Canadian billionaire businessman Lawrence Stroll, leaving Rich Energy looking for a different way to grow its profile in F1.
Steiner said that Haas had done all the necessary 'due diligence' on the deal and had no doubts about its new partner.
"We did what we need to do. We needed to do it before we met [them]. Why do you doubt that?" Steiner told Autosport magazine. "Obviously we did what we needed to do, and our legal advisors were content with that.
"If a partner comes along which contributes enough to do something together as well, because this gives us opportunities, why not do it?" he said on Thursday. "I think it will help the team."
The title deal probably means that Haas' current red, black and silver livery will be changed to fit in with Rich Energy's gold and black branding.
"It’s Gene’s decision in the end how the car looks," Steiner said. "He was happy with it and for the future. That is why we signed."
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