Haas' Rich Energy fears revealed in leaked letter

The ongoing bedlam surrounding Haas and the team's title sponsor Rich Energy deepened as a letter leaked by the drinks company revealed the F1 team's concerns about the viability of their main sponsor.

Rich Energy have been plunged into an apparent civil war ahead of the British GP, with CEO William Storey publicly quarrelling with the company's shareholders.

A post from Rich Energy's Twitter account on Wednesday claimed that its sponsorship of Haas had been cancelled due to poor performance – Kevin Magnussen finishing behind Williams' George Russell in Austria given as an example.

A subsequent Rich Energy statement distanced the company from those claims, only for Storey to be quoted on social media accusing the shareholders of attempting a "palace coup".

The company claimed in its statement that it is attempting to remove an individual, presumably Storey, from his role.

And Rich Energy's Twitter account once again moved the story along as it published a letter from Haas' lawyers which stated numerous concerns about the situation.

The letter says Haas "will need to see clear and unambiguous evidence that Mr Storey has been removed as a director of the company and that a new CEO has been validly appointed in his place."

It continues: "We are somewhat at a loss as to how you will be able to wrestle control of the company from Mr Storey."

The letter also outlines Haas concerns over the impact on Rich Energy having lost a copyright case to Whyte Bikes over allegedly copying its stag logo.

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