The Sauber-run Formula 1 squad that previously operated as Alfa Romeo has officially launched its new Stake F1 Team identity ahead of the 2024 F1 season.
Betting, entertainment and lifestyle brand Stake has stepped up its involvement after joining the then Alfa Romeo-branded team as a title sponsor in 2023, and will now be the squad's official name for two years before it becomes Audi.
It has also announced that it will launch its 2024 F1 car in London on February 5.
Audi is in the process of taking over what's now Stake before entering F1 as a manufacturer in 2026 with its own team and engine.
It bought a minority stake in the team at the start of 2023 and is set to increase that to 50% and then 75% over the next year or so.
But while Audi gears up for 2026 and Sauber’s existing Ferrari engine deal runs its course to the end of 2025, Sauber has struck new naming rights deals for the intervening years.
It has run under the Alfa Romeo name for the last few seasons, initially just in title sponsorship form in 2018 before selling the team and chassis name to the Italian manufacturer from 2019 through to the end of 2023.
It appeared on the official FIA entry list last month as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, with its chassis designated the Kick Sauber C44, but will use Stake F1 Team as its main title.
Emerging streaming platform Kick.com - which has Stake among its backers - was Sauber's other title partner last season and had lead branding at races in countries where gambling advertising is limited.
The end of the Alfa Romeo deal could have led to a revival of the Sauber name, which the team ran under until its BMW takeover in 2006 and then again after BMW's exit from 2010 until the Alfa tie-up.
Instead its rebranding constitutes a conscious move away from the Sauber era to fully embrace Stake as its new official name.
The announcement of the Stake rebrand said it marked "the beginning of a brand new, dynamic and exciting era – one that breaks away from conventional concepts of sports and entertainment sponsorship. It aims to redefine marketing activations in an exciting manner, leaving no tradition untouched and challenging the status quo. In this innovative approach, excitement is the new currency for what promises to be the one of the most engaging teams on the grid".
Stake co-founder Edward Craven added: "Fuelled by deep passion for speed, innovation, and pushing boundaries, we are now ideally positioned to take the team to unprecedented heights from 2024 and beyond.
"The upcoming years will be a thrilling ride with some mind-blowing activations planned that will redefine excitement on and off the track. So, brace yourselves and stay tuned, as Stake F1 Team accelerates towards an exciting future."
Cashing in on the naming rights is designed to support what is now Stake's interim seasons as it prepares for the Audi transformation, which will demand a clear step in competitiveness.
Until Audi takes majority control of the team, there are limitations to how much it will invest and where - meaning deals like this are important to support funding improvements in facilities, personnel, and car development.
