Sauber get new name after Alfa Romeo exit as F1 2024 entry list released
Alfa Romeo's sponsorship of the Sauber team concluded at the end of the 2023 season.
Sauber have confirmed they will race as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber from the F1 2024 season following Alfa Romeo’s exit at the end of this year.
After team principal Alessandro Alunni Bravi promised a surprise for Sauber’s new name, the Swiss team have announced that their new identity will incorporate both Stake and Kick as title sponsors.
Kick.com have acquired the naming rights for Sauber’s 2024 chassis, which will be known as the KICK Sauber C44.
New look for Sauber in F1 2024
Streaming platform Kick joined forces with Sauber as a major partner ahead of the 2023 season, with the ties between the two strengthened with Friday’s announcement.
Sauber Motorsport, who operated the Alfa Romeo F1 team from the start of 2019 up until the end of 2023, has been renamed for the next two years as the Swiss squad goes through a transitionary period before the arrival of the Audi brand in 2026.
Bravi said: “Sauber has always been about innovation, breaking the mould and defying convention.
“The partnership with Kick.com is the latest and boldest display of the philosophy that drives us. Kick.com is redefining the way live streaming is done and they will adopt the same disruptive approach in the world of Formula 1.
“With Kick.com, our goal is to make the next step in finding new and innovative ways to get closer to our fans.”
Kick co-founder Bijan Tehrani added: “Kick.com has seen tremendous growth since its inception and is continuing to make waves in the streaming industry.
“KICK’s content is fast-paced and engaging, like what we witness every grand prix weekend. Just like this partnership, KICK was essentially destined for the racetrack.
“We are thrilled to take our collaboration to an unparalleled magnitude, backed by our knowledge of the motorsport culture, and our passion for cutting-edge technology. Exceptionally, this universally popular sport, aligns perfectly with our product and what we are building at Kick.com.”
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Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will continue as the team’s drivers for a third season in 2024, having first partnered up at the beginning of 2022.
The team will be aiming for a much improved season next year having finished a lowly ninth – just four points ahead of bottom-placed Haas – in 2023, with Bravi recently confirming that the 2024 car will be launched in the United Kingdom.
The news of Sauber’s new look comes after Aston Martin confirmed on Thursday that they will compete as Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team in 2024 after agreeing a bumped five-year extension with the Saudi Arabian oil brand.
Aramco had previously shared the Aston Martin naming rights with US tech firm Cognizant, with the Lawrence Stroll-owned outfit setting the trend for F1 teams having multiple title partners.
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