Red Bull’s rebrand of their sister team to VCARB – which stands for Visa Cash App RB – has been completed after the team unveiled a striking new livery at their launch event in Las Vegas. The design is an ode to the team’s history as the Toro Rosso team, with whom the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen made their F1 debuts.
The VCARB transition is the team’s third rebrand in recent times with the Italian constructor previously renaming the iconic Toro Rosso team to AlphaTauri in 2020, in order to promote Red Bull’s clothing brand.
This time, commercial partners Visa and Cash App have joined as title sponsors alongside the chassis name, which is simply classified as RB.
When the VCARB drivers emerge onto the Sakhir International Circuit tarmac later this month, they will do so in one of the most striking liveries on the grid. In a sea of carbon-exposed designs, the Faenza-based team have opted for a full blast of colour.
New leaders Peter Bayer and Laurent Mekies will hope that the new identity for the team can help them recover some ground in the 2024 Constructors’ Championship fight.
AlphaTauri ended their final season in F1 in eighth place, but it was only a heroic end to the season – during which Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda combined to score points in four of the last five races – that helped the team leapfrog Haas and Sauber at the bottom.
In 2024, the team are not just rebranding from AlphaTauri to VCARB, but they are also becoming closer aligned with their sister team in terms of day-to-day operations in a bid to bring performance more in line with the reigning world champions, Red Bull.
While 2024 is a fresh year for VCARB in terms of identity, it is a make-or-break one for its two drivers. Ricciardo heads into his first full season since leaving McLaren needing to impress in order to stake a claim for Sergio Perez’s seat at Red Bull in 2025.
Tsunoda, meanwhile, is also in the last year of his contract and will need to impress in his fourth F1 campaign if he is to convince Red Bull bosses that he is a viable candidate for the sister team.
Both drivers will have the added pressure of Liam Lawson’s presence, with the young New Zealander waiting patiently on the sidelines in 2024 ahead of an expected call-up to VCARB in 2025.
