Racing with Rich Energy: How a Rogue Sponsor Took Formula One for a Ride

Formula One is known for glitz and glamour, but lurking in the background are dark, and sometimes deeply strange, goings on: sex scandals with prison camp themes, Nigerian prince scams, protests of its grands prix in countries known for their human rights violations, tax evasion--the list goes on. These things often stay in the background, thanks to efforts by the series to maintain an opulent aura. But with the 2019 season came a force louder than Formula One could dream of muffling: William Storey, the founder of British startup Rich Energy. Storey became a multimillion-dollar sponsor of the Haas Formula One Team a year after records showed Rich Energy having a mere $770 in the bank, but that didn't matter. Storey equated his doubters to moon-landing truthers and publicly mocked entities winning legal disputes against him. In the six months between Storey's first race as a Formula One sponsor and his very public exit, he became the most visible part of the world's most visible racing series, easily tearing down its red-carpet facades with a loud mouth and an active Twitter account. Haas team boss Guenther Steiner described the Rich Energy news cycle as: I'm getting sick of answering these stupid fucking questions on a race weekend. I've never seen any fucking thing like this. This book is the fascinating, bizarre, and complete story.