Team name changes are not uncommon in the world of Formula 1, with sponsorship deals and branding efforts often giving new identities to teams on and off the grid.
Two of Formula 1’s ten teams will be renamed ahead of the 2024 season – one more dramatically than the other.
Money always makes the F1 world spin. So branding efforts and lucrative sponsorship deals regularly cause identity changes for teams racing on the grid – some more frequently than others.
The team currently racing under the name Scuderia AlphaTauri has had a number of other forms over the years. It started as Minardi and competed in the world championship for 20 years under that name before being sold to Red Bull GmbH. It was renamed Toro Rosso and became the sister team of Red Bull Racing, accustomed to recruiting young drivers from its academy. Since 2020, she has raced under clothing brand AlphaTauri, but that deal will end at the end of this season.
The team’s new general manager, Peter Bayer, has confirmed that the team’s new “identity” has been decided. But he remained tight-lipped about the new name the team will adopt.
“Discussions are going very well, unfortunately I can’t reveal what its name will be yet,” he said. “The shareholders have decided on the identity of the team, we are moving a little closer to the Red Bull family. These are exciting times to see the birth of a Formula 1 team, It was a unique experience, I’m so happy to have lived through this.”
A return to Toro Rosso was ruled out from the beginning of the process. Instead, the team talked to famous brands about a potentially profitable business deal. Hugo Boss has been heavily linked, while recent reports have also pointed to Adidas as a potential title sponsor.
But AlphaTauri isn’t the only team changing its name right now. The Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 team is also set to undergo a slight identity change, although it will be much less noticeable, with the iconic carmaker remaining the main brand involved. mandarin.
IT company Cognizant has signed a new contract with the team but will no longer be title sponsor. “Cognizant is our first title partner – and they have partnered with Aston Martin to build their brand reputation,” said a team spokesperson, adding said the team’s next full name will be confirmed “in early 2024”.
They added:
“This was always planned as the second phase of this relationship: after achieving global brand awareness, they deepen their partnership with us, they apply digital transformation to our business – both on and off the road – and we are now building a deeper relationship, a broader relationship with them.
Leave a Reply