Red Bull Racing recently rebranded their sister team to Visa Cash App RB. This has come after the two Fintech giants Visa and Cash App tied up with the formerly AlphaTauri team this year. However, there was one more company who were the forerunner to have their name on the branding, but that was not the case. Orlen has been with the Faenza-based team since last year and decided to stick with them in 2024 despite not getting to put their name on the forefront of the branding, as per Decalspotters on X.
Orlen is a multinational oil refiner and petrol company headquartered in Plock, Poland. They have a market valuation of $18 billion currently and have Formula 1 ties for quite some time now. Apart from AlphaTauri, they also sponsored Williams Racing and Polish driver Robert Kubica in 2019.
Following Kubica’s move to Alfa Romeo as a reserve driver in 2020, Orlen moved to the Swiss team. Soon after they became the co-title sponsor of Alfa Romeo in 2020 and 2021 and finally had their name on the branding as Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen in 2022.
some Jeddah Street Circuit fast facts to feed your inner geek! @TeamORLEN track guide #F1 #Orlen pic.twitter.com/5M0SYhriOi
— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) March 16, 2023
In 2023, the Polish company switched teams to come to Scuderia AlphaTauri. They agreed on a multi-year partnership with the Red Bull sister team as a principal partner. Their logo was extensively on the rear wing and in a Red accent on the livery of the 2023 AlphaTauri AT04.
As the Visa Cash App also came on board, the Faenza-based team is expected to have a different livery this year by going away from their traditional dark blue and white colors. Since Orlen decided to stay back, they are expected to go lucky here. They are expected to have a similar impact on the livery with Red accent in 2024 as well.
Visa Cash App RB disaster
The Visa Cash App RB is surely a name that is making fans go gaga over it. When the Alfa Romeo F1 team changed their name to Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, little did everyone know that Red Bull had other plans. As they revealed the new name for AlphaTauri, it instantly grabbed everyone’s attention for being mouthful.
When the reports came out that Red Bull had plans to change the name of AlphaTauri in 2024, many believed that the team might shift back to Toro Rosso. Toro Rosso was a name that impressed fans to a great extent because of its meaning. Toro Rosso in Italian means Red Bull.
Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN devient… Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN !
Gros changement (c’est faux) pic.twitter.com/bMWbIyTEkz
— Off Track (@OffTrack_FR) January 20, 2022
However, in disappointment for fans, Red Bull did not pay any heed to them. In the end, they renamed the team to Visa Cash App RB. This had monetary reasons which gives them a $20 million annual influx from the two principal sponsors.
Needless to say, the name did not impress the fans, and is of course a pain to address the team as VCARB for journalists. As for the team officials, they have a bigger aspect to look at now.
Red Bull already mentioned that they want their sister team to come out of their shadows. The rebranding is probably the first step to this. They also brought in Laurent Mekies from Ferrari to replace Franz Tost.
Therefore, the restructuring and rebranding is surely for the new beginning. This is probably the reason why Orlen decided to stay back this year even after they did not get their name on the branding, unlike their Alfa Romeo days.
