Sauber defends its choice to now name itself Stake F1 Team
With Alfa Romeo's withdrawal at the end of the 2023 season and the anticipated arrival of Audi in 2026, fans expected Sauber to reclaim its founder's name. However, the Swiss team is now called by its title sponsor's name. Alessandro Alunni Bravi claims that this new name brings many advantages for the team.
After five years of collaboration with Alfa Romeo, Sauber lost the support of the Italian manufacturer and became independent again for two seasons with the arrival of Audi in 2026.
If the world of F1 expected to see the name of the Swiss founder of the team return, it is ultimately Stake and Kick who have taken more importance than expected. The team will participate in the season under the name Stake F1 Team, except in countries where the promotion of gambling is prohibited, such as Belgium for example.
During its official presentation on February 5th, the race car was black, due to the bare carbon fiber, and green, the color of the Kick platform. The Sauber name remains visible on the nose of the C44, but does not take up as much space as the team’s other two major sponsors.
When you have a different team name from the others, it’s easy to be critical.
While criticism began to emerge from some fans regarding the name of the Swiss team, Alessandro Alunni Bravi puts forward multiple arguments in favor of the new team name.
We had 22 million views on the team’s advertisement in two days, and it’s a goal we have never achieved with a single post on our social media. This also shows the potential on social media if you have a vision, good communication, and can truly reach new targets,” Alunni Bravi rejoices.
Of course, there will be critics because there are people who were close to Sauber and expected something different. But we really want to have a new team identity. Criticisms will always be there when you try something new. When you have a team name different from the other teams, it’s always easy to be critical, explains the executive director of the stable.
I think people will see how we are going to communicate, how we are going to get closer to them, and all the activities we are going to do to interact with the fans. I think they will forget all of this and see how exciting the new chapter is. When we take into consideration what we are doing, we are doing it to show the benefits of choice, positively influenced by Italian.
