Leaving behind the AlphaTauri identity, Visa Cash App RB (V-CARB) is hard at work establishing its new identity. Despite an unappealing name, the team is working in close conjunction with Red Bull to come up with a car capable of competing higher up the order. To achieve the same, the sister teams are sharing certain parts, and V-CARB’s team principal, Laurent Mekies, explains they are not breaching any rules.
“We’re in a situation where we have an owner of two teams and naturally we’re asked, ‘What can we share?’ We should share. We are reviewing the regulations and sharing what we can. But on the other hand, we are pushing as hard as we can to prepare ourselves to fight for bigger prizes.” – as quoted by Motorsport.com
Until 2023, V-CARB had two offices- one in Faenza and one in Bicester. The team is moving their Bicester office to Milton Keynes so they can be closer to Red Bull. Through this, the teams will be able to incorporate their engineers in both teams’ projects. It will be similar to how things operate between Ferrari and Haas in Maranello.
Mekies admits he wants to make his team a company without locations. While having two headquarters did not prove advantageous earlier, Mekies believes things changed in 2024. According to him, having separate bases in different continents will allow the team to hire the best people in the UK and Europe.
Visa Cash App RB and Red Bull under extra scrutiny by rival teams
Following a late surge by (formerly) AlphaTauri in 2023, rival teams put Red Bull and V-CARB under the microscope. Both teams came under increased scrutiny from the rest of the grid as allegations rose of parts sharing beyond the rules’ allowance. Another concern for the teams is the collaborative research sharing between sister teams. Similar concerns arose when Haas was at its competitive best. However, the situation at V-CARB is much more concerning.
Daniel Ricciardo has demanded more respect for his Visa Cash App RB #F1 team, which he insists is stepping out from Red Bull’s shadow https://t.co/TyxDj00EVa pic.twitter.com/SNxPyX0d0O
— Mirror F1 (@MirrorF1) February 9, 2024
In a window of less than five Grands Prix, V-CARB went from the slowest car at low speeds to being the best. As such, teams worry that the Red Bull sister teams are sharing research beyond the rules permit. The regulations lay down strict outlines around the transfer of data or any other intellectual property. Despite there being no accusations of wrongdoings, rival teams still want stricter rules to reduce any risk.
