Explained: Why Red Bull are planning huge second team rebrand for F1 2024

Red Bull will rebrand their AlphaTauri team for 2024, and new CEO Peter Bayer has explained the logic behind the decision.

Having been rebranded for 2020 as AlphaTauri after 14 years under their previous iteration as Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s second team will be renamed once again for 2024 as a revolution sweeps through the Faenza-based squad.

Along with the name change, there’s also a change of leadership as former Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies joins as the new team boss in place of the departing Franz Tost, while Peter Bayer has been appointed as CEO.

Why the plan to rebrand AlphaTauri came about

Having survived the possibility of being sold off, as had been rumoured following the death of Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz last year, the changes for 2024 suggest a completely clean sheet of paper for Red Bull’s second team for next season.

Speaking to PlanetF1.com in an exclusive interview at Monza, Bayer explained that there was no coincidence to the fact that a name change is coming about at the same time as wider management changes are made.

Asked whether this point in time had been singled out as a line in the sand for a revolution, the Austrian said: “That’s what the shareholders told us. They said, ‘Look, guys, we won’t sell it, we’ll keep the team’.

“But we want to have a fresh start, we want to look at the global direction, the strategic direction of the team, the commercial success to sporting success. Let’s take a critical look at all the elements. That’s why it’s a unique opportunity. We’re building on experience but, at the same time, the sky’s the limit for innovation and development.”

与AlphaTauri团队会见succ有限ess over their four seasons, was there a link between that lack of on-track achievement and the desire to move away from the name?

“AlphaTauri is a clothing brand, which is owned by Red Bull,” Bayer explained.

“They’re currently re-evaluating where they want to take the clothing brand, and how they strategically want to position it, which is why that whole discussion came about.”

A big sponsorship agreement is mooted for next season, with one rumour being that clothing brand Hugo Boss are set to sign a deal with the Red Bull-owned team – but Bayer couldn’t be drawn on what might be in store, other than confirming changes are on the way.

“I’d love to!” he laughed when asked to tease what sponsors might be set to join. “But I’m not allowed, it’s all under NDA [non-disclosure agreement] protection and everything!”

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Peter Bayer: No short-term success expected with increased Red Bull links

From next year, AlphaTauri, or whatever they will be called by then, are set to work more closely with the more successful Red Bull Racing team at their campus at Milton Keynes in the UK.

But while the links will be strengthened in the coming months, Bayer doesn’t believe it will yield immediate success in the short-term for his team.

“No, because we have to be, not only by regulation but also our self-definition, we have to be a Formula 1 team,” he said.

“Certain things will always happen within our four walls. But it’s really trying to understand how we can over the years – probably five years – come closer to Red Bull Racing.

“But, at the same time, making sure we have this because it’s also a question of equity value. If we were to stop operating in certain areas and say ‘Well, we will just copy and paste what they do’, then we wouldn’t be a Formula 1 team as I think we should be.

“So there are no quick gains. I mean, this year, we’ve seen some amazing changes in the results scheme, when suddenly Aston Martin popped up, and then suddenly McLaren popped up, but I think that’s really down to the fact that they all understood that what Red Bull Racing did in terms of design philosophy is the right one with this new downforce element which everybody is following.”

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