Few things are dividing Formula 1 fans these days more than what to call the newly branded Visa Cash App RB F1 team.
While the team’s previous branding—AlphaTauri—was at least a smooth say, media and fans seem to be carefully dodging the new mouthful and settling on the abbreviated RB for this new branding. And to throw another little wrinkle in the discussion, the team has named its new car for 2024 the VCARB 01 (short for “Visa Cash App RB 01,” get it).
The car’s livery was revealed at a star-studded production in Las Vegas late Thursday night.
The team is promising a closer-than-ever relationship with parent Red Bull, and with new team principal Laurent Mekies and veteran drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda, this team could be a spoiler for some of the bigger teams this season. Mekies replaces long-time team boss Franz Tost, who retired after the 2023 season.
The team finished eighth place in the F1 Constructors’ Championship last season.
This year’s car features a striking black, blue and white livery that will be hard to miss.
Mike Pryson covered auto racing for the Jackson (Mich.) Citizen Patriot and MLive Media Group from 1991 until joining Autoweek in 2011. He won several Michigan Associated Press and national Associated Press Sports Editors awards for auto racing coverage and was named the 2000 Michigan Auto Racing Fan Club’s Michigan Motorsports Writer of the Year. A Michigan native, Mike spent three years after college working in southwest Florida before realizing that the land of Disney and endless summer was no match for the challenge of freezing rain, potholes and long, cold winters in the Motor City.