Sauber has a new team name following the departure of Alfa Romeo and puts sponsor Stake in the foreground – Small hint of new AlphaTauri identity
The cat is out of the bag: For a long time, there was guesswork about what the Sauber team will be called in the 2024 Formula 1 season after the departure of Alfa Romeo, but the FIA’s published entry list provides certainty: gambling company Stake will remain the title sponsor of the racing team, which will compete under the name “Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber” until the takeover by Audi
In addition, the streaming company Kick.com has strengthened its commitment and acquired the naming rights to the chassis, which will be known as the KICK Sauber C44 in the coming season.
Until 2019, the team was called Alfa Romeo, with Sauber Motorsport remaining in the background as the executive team. However, the takeover of the Sauber Group by Audi made it impossible for Alfa Romeo to remain involved, and the contract was not renewed when it expired.
The Sauber name will now be at the forefront again for the two interim seasons 2024 and 2025, before the team from Hinwil switches completely to Audi from 2026.
In January, the team announced the first contracts with Stake as title sponsor alongside Alfa Romeo and Kick as ‘Major Partner’. Stake and Kick.com have a common Australian owner but are independent companies.
This year, some races in Australia, Spain, Belgium and Qatar used Kick.com branding instead of Stake. It is said that the team will officially compete as Kick Formula 1 Team Sauber at some races in 2024.
“Sauber has always been about innovation, about breaking molds and conventions,” says Sauber representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi. “The partnership with Kick.com is the latest and boldest expression of this philosophy.”
“Kick.com is redefining the way of live streaming and will bring the same disruptive approach to the world of Formula 1. Our goal with Kick.com is to take the next step in the search for new and innovative ways to get closer to our fans,” said Alunni Bravi.
Kick.com co-founder Bijan Tehrani says that the company “has experienced tremendous growth since its inception and continues to make waves in the streaming industry.”
He added: “We look forward to taking our collaboration to an unprecedented level, supported by our knowledge of motorsport culture and passion for cutting-edge technology.”
AlphaTauri’s name change was eagerly awaited on the entry list, but fans will have to wait even longer for the new name. The racing team is still officially registered as Scuderia AlphaTauri, but is to be given a different identity for 2024 – Racing Bulls is the presumed name.
However, there is already an indication of this in the list, where the team is listed as “Scuderia AlphaTauri RB”.
Otherwise, the only thing that stands out in the entry list is that title sponsor Cognizant has disappeared from the Aston Martin team name. However, the exclusive partnership with Aramco had already been announced by the racing team yesterday (Thursday)