Red Bull has taken the first concrete step in rebranding its second Formula 1 team by changing AlphaTauri to Visa Cash App RB for 2024.
A “multi-year agreement” makes Visa the ‘global partner’ of both Red Bull teams while Cash App, already a feature on Red Bull Racing’s cars, also gets a slice of the new F1 team name that leaked earlier in January.
Visa Cash App RB will also be the name used to support an entry in the all-female F1 Academy series.
The team formerly known as AlphaTauri and Toro Rosso is getting this latest makeover as Red Bull works out what to do with a team it has demanded more from.
It ended 2023 in better form on-track and is developing closer ties with Red Bull Racing and Red Bull Technology for 2024 and beyond, which should give it a clear opportunity to be even more competitive.
Team CEO Peter Bayer, who joined last year, said it now has “an even greater focus on competing for the biggest prizes in F1” and “a bold vision for the team” led by him and new team principal Laurent Mekies, who joins from Ferrari.
Off-track, though, it has struggled for relevance even in the four-year stint racing under the name of Red Bull’s fashion label, and the rebrand to a corporate, dual-sponsor identity was widely panned when it leaked online.
The team is at least likely to be informally known by the acronym VCARB, rather than the full name being used every time.
A brand new livery will also be revealed at the team’s car launch in Las Vegas on February 8.
The colour scheme used in the initial reveal of the new name hints there could be a return to the blue that helped make the last few Toro Rosso designs a fan favourite.
