After weeks of teasing, the much-awaited rebrand of the Sauber F1 team is finally announced. And it is not without a huge surprise! Canadian rap star Drake has entered the F1 paddock with Sauber as the Swiss outfit has rebranded itself as the Stake F1 team for 2024-25. Drake is one of the celebrities Stake, the online casino brand partners with. The Sauber team boss has stated that this is just the beginning, teasing more exciting turn of events ahead.
The Hinwil-based outfit updated its social handles and put a dope video of the name reveal as Stake F1 team. The Instagram video features Drake announcing the new team name for the next two years.
The 37-year-old rapper is one of the ambassadors for Stake, as he often is involved in multiple sports such as UFC, and the Premier League. These league brands also have partnerships with the online casino brand. Reportedly, Drake has a $100 million per year endorsement deal with Stake.
This collaboration and title partnership with Stake is not a sudden decision though from Sauber. The Swiss team has onboarded them in 2023 as a sponsor. They also did various promotional activities with the brand’s ambassadors Sergio Aguero and Karan Aujla.
With so many Hollywood and other sports celebrities like Ryan Reynolds, Anthony Joshua, and Patrick Mahomes getting involved in F1 by investing in Alpine, Drake’s Sauber association comes as the cherry on the cake.
However, it is not yet known what further role would he play in the Sauber setup. As of now, many only expect him to make multiple Grand Prix weekend appearances with the newly-rebranded Stake team. Nevertheless, it has certainly taken the F1 world by storm.
Sauber team boss reveals future plans amid Stake F1 rebrand
The Sauber team was always going to be in the limelight after Audi announced its 2026 takeover of the outfit. However, the next two years are going to be a crucial transition for the Hinwil outfit. Thus, team boss Alessandro Alunni Bravi has explained the significance of the Stake rebrand and how it benefits them for the future.
According to Motorsport.com, Alunni Bravi said, “Stake not only successfully tapped into F1’s growing fan base to enhance its own community, but also introduced a completely new audience to the sport, something that benefitted not only our team but also everyone else in F1.”
The Sauber team is probably looking to fill the financial void that Alfa Romeo left after 2023. With the title partnership deal money, it will look to keep improving its F1 project and set itself up for the 2026 Audi overhaul. Till then, Ferrari will remain as their engine supplier.
Audi will gain a 75% stake in Sauber when it completes its takeover by 2026. They had bought a minority stake back when they announced their F1 entry at the 2022 Belgian GP. This is also partially the reason behind Alfa Romeo leaving F1 as their negotiations with Sauber failed post Audi’s announcement.
Sauber also felt that the Alfa Romeo deal had matured and was not meeting the current market value of F1 teams. It made sense from all fronts for Alfa to leave Sauber with Audi coming.
