The rebranding of Red Bull’s sister team, AlphaTauri, marks a new era for the Faenza-based outfit. Renamed to ‘Visa Cash App RB F1 Team‘, the upper-echelons of Red Bull’s management no longer want them to play second fiddle. They want to elevate the team’s status from a mere feeder team to a legitimate competitor and rival on track. With the 2024 F1 season right around the corner, the team has signaled their intent with some very prolific hiring.
As per credited F1 journalist, Chris Medland, Visa Cash App RB has filled three crucial top managerial positions with some illustrious names. Tim Goss joins them as their Chief Technical Officer, Alan Permane is hired as their Racing Director and Guillaume Cattelani has been onboarded as the team’s latest Deputy Technical Director.
Visa Cash App RB has hired:
– Tim Goss (formerly of FIA and McLaren) as chief technical officer
– Alan Permane (previously Alpine) as racing director
– Guillaume Cattelani (Red Bull, McLaren, Lotus) as deputy technical director#F1— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) January 29, 2024
Goss has previously served as the Technical Director for McLaren, whilst his latest job was as the Single-Seater Technical Director for the FIA. Permane was part of the double-championship winning outfit at Renault, later serving as Sporting Director for the team’s iterations as Lotus and Alpine. Cattelani on the other hand, is from Red Bull and has previously also worked with the likes of McLaren and Lotus.
With Franz Tost and a bevy of personnel exiting Visa Cash App RB, this influx of hires has signaled a changing of the guard at the team. The old regime has now officially come to an end with the latest recruits hoping to raise the team’s competitiveness up a notch. While they would be hoping to make a few strides on track in 2024, they are sure to cause a tsunami in the driver market.
Three-way battle at Visa Cash App RB for Red Bull seat
As things stand, three drivers are vying for a potential race seat in F1 for 2025 and beyond. Whilst Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda are battling it out for that elusive 2nd Red Bull seat, Liam Lawson has been thrown into the mix after his impressive cameo as a 2023 rookie for AlphaTauri.
Lawson stepped in as a temporary replacement for the injured Ricciardo for a handful of races last year. However, the performances he put in, especially his points finish at the Singapore GP, have brought him into the mix for a full-time race seat.
Tsunoda, Ricciardo or Lawson?
Yuki Tsunoda says that AlphaTauri need three seats in 2024 #JapaneseGP #F1https://t.co/7lqxBxVpjb
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 21, 2023
What’s more, Sergio Perez’s seat at Red Bull looks ever so increasingly under threat. If the Guadalajara-born driver’s 2024 is even remotely as dismal as last year, he will likely be sacked .In that case, both, Ricciardo and Tsunoda are being considered as possible replacements for the 34-year-old.
That being said, Ricciardo and Tsunoda’s own seats are in danger, too. With Honda’s departure to be formalized by 2026, Tsunoda may soon become surplus to the team’s requirements. And if Ricciardo fails to impress in 2024, he would be on the verge of bidding his F1 career farewell.
