Why the recent team name sagas should alarm F1

OPINION: In the recent team naming storms, the business models of modern Formula 1 squads come under scrutiny. ‘Cash is king’ in this business, but at the same time that reality threatens something more fleeting and wonderful underneath

Published Feb 1, 2024, 11:08 AM

AlphaTauri’s rebranding as Visa Cash App RB and the outcry that followed were as predictable as the new name was underwhelming. One element of this was the various headlines decrying it as the worst Formula 1 team name ever, including in The Guardian newspaper.

More than ever in F1, teams are used as branding exercises. It’s not new – think Benetton in the 1990s. But the fashion house at least owned the team that is now Alpine, unlike Alfa Romeo with Sauber in the last five years of that ‘branding exercise’.

Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.