The 2024 Formula 1 season is set to be marked by significant transformations for Alpha Tauri and Sauber, with both teams undergoing official name changes. Alpha Tauri’s new identity is suggested to be Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, a change indicated by the registration of domains visacashapprb.com and racingbulls.com, both traced back to Red Bull and Faenza based Alpha Tauri. The team’s anticipated new Instagram handle, ‘visacashapprb’, further confirms this speculation. This rebranding reflects an expansion of Cash App’s current minor sponsorship role with Red Bull Racing.
Simultaneously, Sauber is poised to adopt the name Stake F1, in homage to its Australian online casino sponsor Stake, following Alfa Romeo’s departure from F1. Swiss journalist Roger Benoit reports in Blick that the Stake team, which he jokingly says is still pronounced Sauber, will unveil their new look in London on February 5. This choice of location is strategic, bypassing Switzerland’s stringent advertising laws against gambling. However, this rebranding is expected to be temporary, with Audi scheduled to take over the team in 2026.
As the F1 community anticipates these changes, attention also turns to driver movements, particularly Carlos Sainz’s potential future with Sauber’s future identity as Audi. Italian journalist Leo Turrini raises the question in Quotidiano Nazionale about whether Audi, leveraging the connections of Sainz’s father, has offered him a seat from 2026. Amidst these rumors, Sainz Jr., in his last contracted year with Ferrari, expressed dissatisfaction with the 2023 car. Speaking to AS, he remarked, “It was very difficult to understand. I didn’t enjoy driving it.
