The Red Bull sister team, known under many guises in 2024 including RB, is proposing another name change ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Ahead of the 2024 campaign, the Faenza-based F1 outfit, formerly known as AlphaTauri, Toro Rosso and Minardi (in its pre-Red Bull days), rebranded as Visa Cash App RB.
Given this was a bit of a mouthful, the team flitted between being referred to as VCARB and later RB to avoid tongue twisters and confusion.
However, given its official company name is ‘Racing Bulls S.p.A’, there’s still been some confusion regarding the team’s identity which CEO Peter Bayer wants to clear up.
“We’ve been struggling to a certain extent with making it clear to people what the team name is, and seen so many versions,” Bayer said via The Race.
“In January, it all happened within weeks, and we’ve been probably rushing a couple of things.
“What we see ultimately is that people are referring to us as Visa Cash App Racing Bulls. And Racing Bulls anyway is our company name. And certainly, I’ve seen it in the German, Austrian, Italian, French media being used mostly actually.
“People struggling with the RB thing alone, because some of them mixed it up with Red Bull. Others didn’t really know what it stands for.
“So that’s why we decided to clarify that, and basically what you will see in the future is Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, and VCARB as an abbreviation.”
Racing Bulls gives RB squad a clearer identity
Motorsport Week queried a spokesperson of the RB squad in Las Vegas about the necessity of clearing up the team’s identity.
The move, Motorsport Week was told, is to engage with the team’s audience, Racing Bulls gives F1 fans a clearer name they can get behind.
Given that one of RB’s (or Racing Bulls henceforth) objectives is to engage with a younger demographic, having a clear identity is vital.
Speaking exclusively to Motorsport Week in Zandvoort earlier this year, Bayer said: “I think one of the things we want to achieve is to be the team that is serving the young audience with more authentic content. And I think that’s bringing that entertainment, fun bit into the sport.”
Racing Bulls is a simple enough brand to market to a younger, ever-growing F1 audience, far more engaging than RB.
Beyond clarifying its stance on the Racing Bulls moniker, not much is actually changing at Visa Cash App RB.
The team’s two title partners remain in place, a vital part of the Faenza-based squad’s financial sustainability that keeps parent company Red Bull happy with a lighter wallet.
Moreover, the team’s 2025 machine will be called the VCARB02, succeeding this year’s VCARB01 and in accordance with Article 8.2 of F1’s Sporting Regulations – whereby the team name “must include the name of the chassis” – RB’s chassis on the official 2025 entry list will be referred to as Racing Bulls.
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