Rich Energy - according to its Twitter account - has apparently pulled the plug on its involvement with the Haas F1 Team.
The energy drink company, whose product is as rare as hens' teeth, cited the US outfit's "poor performance", something Rich Energy is well acquainted with given the scarcity of its product and sales, for the reason it has terminated its sponsorship.
"Today Rich Energy terminated our contract with Haas for poor performance," read the company's message on Twitter.
"We aim to beat Red Bull Racing and being behind Williams in Austria is unacceptable. The politics and PC attitude in F1 is also inhibiting our business. We wish the team well."
As a reminder, Haas' Kevin Magnussen qualified fifth in Austria, ahead of at least one Red Bull. However, the US outfit did indeed struggle on race day with Romain Grosjean and Magnussen finishing respectively P16 and P19.
Rich Energy's about-face with regard to its involvement in F1 follows several UK court orders that hit the company recently related to a copyright infringement case that was brought about Whyte Bikes, whose logo was copied by Rich Energy.
Today @rich_energy terminated our contract with @HaasF1Team for poor performance. We aim to beat @redbullracing & being behind @WilliamsRacing in Austria is unacceptable. The politics and PC attitude in @F1 is also inhibiting our business. We wish the team well #F1 #richenergy pic.twitter.com/9mAt2dOnYu
— Rich Energy (@rich_energy) July 10, 2019
The potential liabilities associated with the case may have in fact compelled Rich Energy to halt its sponsorship programme, although its official justification for its pull-out is a far cry from this.
The possibility that Rich Energy's Twitter account was 'hacked' did cross our mind. Or perhaps the announcement is a mere publicity stunt that will be denied in the coming hours.
However, should the news prove true, regardless of the real reasons behind the company's retreat from F1, the sport will miss a sponsor that provided the community with many good moments of chuckle and cackle.
Unfortunately, Haas was the only reason anyone knew Rich Energy existed in the first place.
The US outfit has yet to react to the announcement. Watch this space...
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