15 December 2023 , 09:21
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A new name for the Formula 1 team formerly known as Alfa Romeo has been confirmed.
The outfit announced many months ago that their identity would be changing for the 2024 season. And they are in the midst of a significant transition into new eras in their history.
The entry list for the upcoming season, published by the FIA on Friday, has confirmed that identity as Sauber team heads into 2024 as Stake F1 Kick Team Sauber.
It is a temporary guise. The end of their partnership with previous title sponsors Alfa Romeo necessitated a name change for the next two years, until it is fully transformed into the Audi works team.
The German carmaker is, for the first time, entering F1 in 2026, when new power unit rules come into force which means they will run on 50 percent electric power. That makes the championship much more attractive to Audi, who signed up to the 2026 engine regulations earlier this year.
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When Alfa Romeo announced it would be leaving the sport, the assumption was that the Audi name would simply appear earlier. But earlier this month team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi explained why that is not happening.
He said: "We cannot wait to start the partnership with our new partners, we will have I think a really fresh approach in terms of communication, marketing, and we will do a launch of the car here in the UK. It's not a limbo period - we build our future here and now. It's not that there is a separation between the Sauber period and the Audi period.
"We are working since the beginning of the year with our group CEO Andreas Seidl for this transformation process. The entry of Audi in Formula 1 as of 2026 is big news for the entire F1 community, not just important for Sauber to be chosen as a strategic partner. I think all Formula 1 will benefit from this.
Meanwhile, it was thought AlphaTauri would also be changing their name after four years of an unsuccessful marketing campaign by Red Bull in the hope that using their in-house clothing label as the name for their second F1 team, formerly known as Toro Rosso, would help boost its profile. But the experiment has not been as lucrative as hoped.
And, with performances on track over the last couple of seasons uninspiring, Red Bull leaders have decided to make top-to-bottom changes including new infrastructure and fresh leadership. However, they've stopped short of new branding, for now at least.