When F1 sponsors go rogue

If you have been following the Rich Energy shenanigans, in which every twist and turn relating to its logo, contract with Haas and company ownership was played out on Twitter, there is no reason to be shocked.

Behind every Formula 1 sponsorship you will find people, with the full spectrum of behaviours and degrees of professionalism that can bring.

Haas will privately feel embarrassed, but should take heart. Bernie Ecclestone made Formula 1 hugely attractive to corporate sponsors, but it has also proven a strong magnet for less scrupulous opportunists keen to dabble in the glamour, celebrity and money with which the championship has become synonymous.

When I was once lunching in Milan with an Italian businessman purporting to represent an Israeli diamond trading company, his love for F1 was clear - so much so that he wanted to give me several million in return for branding, passes and corporate hospitality. Oh, and some change.

Change?

It went like this: He would give me the sponsorship in cash. As in, in a bag, in Swiss Francs. All I had to do was give him 25% of the sum back, in cash, presumably in another bag, but in Euros. Simple.

Since this felt a bit Hollywood, I asked if he could 'show me the money', at which point his white-suited assistant opened a briefcase stacked with the aforementioned Swiss Francs. I'd have asked for a selfie with it, except that might have been an offer they could refuse.

As it's illegal to carry more than €10,000 within the EU without declaring it, not to mention the inconvenience of jail time associated with tax evasion, counterfeit currency and money laundering, lunch needed to end. They were very disappointed and I was never so glad to depart Malpensa Airport intact.

From The Godfather to The Sting.

A current team flew the president of an allegedly huge company (F1 rule: prospects are always 'huge') to Monaco from the USA, 5-star hotel and Paddock Club tickets included, only to have him disappear a few weeks later when the sponsorship contract was drafted. His assistant told the team he had suffered a serious stroke and was not expected to survive. Deal off.

This sad story was relayed during a Formula 1 team meeting only for Tom Walkinshaw to explain he had entertained the same individual the year before. On that occasion the ill-fated president had been invalided out of the company following a freak accident in which a fire extinguisher spontaneously exploded. Cue much laughter and red faces.

Establishing the credentials of your potential sponsor is key. In sales parlance this is known as 'qualifying the lead'. You do this before wasting time or money on them as a prospect. However, since sponsors are rarer than sensible politicians, eager sales staff sometimes short-cut this all-important step in their desperation to secure deals.

Finally, even when you verify that the company exists, your contact is the decision-maker and the prospect is serious, things can get complicated - as occurred when one of America's leading purveyors of online pornography offered a team $10million, only for the other sponsors and engine supplier to threaten termination for bringing them into disrepute by association.

The prospect understood and by way of appreciation offered the team principal a full back-catalogue of DVDs. The subsequent forklift-truck load of premium adult content later provided an unexpected source of corporate gifts for surprised factory visitors.