The former Alfa Romeo F1 team, also known as Sauber, has officially rebranded under the name of its previous title sponsor to be known as Stake F1 Team.
The Swiss outfit surprised observers when it announced the official team name for 2024 would be Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, and until now it was unclear what they would be referred to as during races.
Co-owned by Australian Ed Craven, Stake is a controversial cryptocurrency-based gambling company, which heavily backs live streaming service Kick – a competitor to market leader Twitch, differentiating itself via a more favourable revenue split for streamers, plus a very lax view of censorship.
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Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu’s cars may not be referred to as Stake at every race, however. In 2023 the team had to heavily revamp its branding in nations where gambling advertising was restricted, instead spotlighting Kick – making the change in Australia, Spain, Belgium and Qatar.
The F1 team will be known as Stake for the next two seasons before being taken over by Audi when the manufacturer enters the sport with its own team and engine for 2026.
Stake will continue its existing Ferrari engine deal until the end of 2025.
Many had hoped the team would revert to the Sauber name, which has a long history in motorsport through founder Peter Sauber.
They were known as Sauber from their 1993 F1 debut until 2005, and again from 2011 to 2018, as well as BMW Sauber from 2006 to 2010.
Alfa Romeo took over the naming rights from 2019 to 2023.
The team finished a disappointing ninth in the constructors’ championship last season.