As expected—or perhaps, as feared—AlphaTauri has been rebranded ahead of the 2024 F1 season and will be henceforth known as… the Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team. Oh dear.
That’s going to be a bit of a mouthful for commentators all over the world, isn’t it? Maybe they’ll stick to the acronym instead: “And Yuki Tsunoda takes pole position in the VCARB!” You never know.
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Anyway, Visa has joined forces with both the Red Bull parent team and its junior outfit, with its logo set to appear on both cars as well as those Red Bull runs in the junior categories and the all-female F1 Academy.
Visa’s signed a multi-year agreement—its first global sports sponsorship deal in 15 years, apparently—and a new-look livery will be revealed in Las Vegas on 8 February.
“It’s fantastic to reveal the new identity of the team and to welcome new partners as we embark on the next phase of the team’s Formula 1 story,” said team CEO Peter Bayer. “Faenza is entering a new era of racing, staying true to our roots as a hothouse for talent but now with an even greater focus on competing for the biggest prizes in F1.
“We have a bold vision for the team led by myself and Team Principal Laurent Mekies, and having future-focused partners such as Visa and Cash App alongside us on that journey is hugely exciting.”
Yuki Tsunoda will start his fourth straight season with the team, continuing alongside Daniel Ricciardo who made a shock return in the middle of last season before missing several races after breaking his hand at the Dutch Grand Prix.
The rebrand is the latest in a long line of different identities that the team has adopted over the years: before it was AlphaTauri it was known as Scuderia Toro Rosso, and prior to that it was European Minardi, and just plain old Minardi before then.
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
