RED BULL RACING’s B-team has been renamed as Visa Cash App RB for the new F1 season.
The Italy-based team were formerly known as AlphaTauri, the soft drink’s clothing range, and before that Toro Rosso – Italian for ‘Red Bull’.
ReutersAlphaTauri has been renamed to Visa Cash App RB[/caption]
GettyYuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo will stay with the team for 2024[/caption]
The move will see the Visa logo on the Red Bull and Visa Cash App RB cars for the new season however, fans are critical of the name change.
Peter Bayer, Chief Executive Officer of the newly named Visa Cash App RB team said: “It’s fantastic to reveal the new identity and to welcome new partners as we embark on the next phase of the team’s F1 story.
“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 lead 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.”
Visa Cash App RB Drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo will unveil the new car livery during a special event in Las Vegas on February 8th ahead of the new season, which kicks off in Bahrain on February 29th.
However, the rebranding has drawn criticism, with F1 website The Race calling “Visa CashApp RB the worst team name in F1 history and would be an embarrassment to Red Bull and F1 as a whole” for its lack of imagination.
McLaren chief executive Zak Brown called for a ban on common ownership in Formula One last month.
Although he did not directly mention Red Bull and AlphaTauri, they are the only two teams in F1 with shared owners.
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In an open letter, Brown argued that “there is an opportunity to improve some of the other processes in Formula 1 to strengthen the values of fairness and competition.”
F1 icon Damon has backed the McLaren chief’s point, saying he “agrees 100 percent”.