F1 Team Officially Unveils What Is Quite Possibly The Worst Name In Sports

We kind of knew that this was coming thanks to the team inadvertently leaking its own new name, but now it's official: AlphaTauri has morphed into Visa Cash App RB.

The rebranding was imminent, but there was still a sliver of hope in a lot of fans that after the Visa Cash App RB name leaked via the team's own social media account, the public reaction would make it go back to the drawing board.

That was not the case, and we will now another sponsor-loaded team name on the grid to go along with Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber in 2024.

The team at least has a sense of humor about this. Notice the caption "This is what you call a hard launch" a nod to the leak.

Money Always Talks In F1

As you may have guessed, this had to do with money, as so much in Formula 1 does. Visa is the title sponsor of this team, but will also have a presence on the parent Red Bull team's cars, according to the Associated Press.

“The best way to explain it is we had an opportunity, as we do with all of our global clients, specifically with Cash App in the United States, in teaming up with Red Bull,” Visa's Senior Vice President of Global Sponsorship Strategy Andrea Fairchild said. “It is a mouthful but it was a way that we could showcase one of our key clients. There wasn’t a way to shorten it after bringing those two things together.

“The fans will certainly decide how they reference it,” she said. “It is our formal name that we’ve introduced to the marketplace. We certainly are capturing all the brands involved and this complex equation, but we’ll listen to the feedback and I’m certain we’ll pick up on some really interesting nuances and I think the fans will have some fun with it.”

Yeah, I'm sure they will... In fact, they already are.

There's More Than Just A New Name At Visa Cash App RB

In addition to the new moniker, the team also teased the unveiling of its 2024 car Feb. 8. This will be one of the more interesting cars to watch. This will be the first since the news that the team would start working closer with Red Bull Racing.

Considering Red Bull's RB19 was one of the most dominant cars ever, and some within the Red Bull camp already think the RB20 will do the same, I wouldn't be surprised if Visa Cash App RB (*dry heaves*) shares a lot of the same design philosophies.

That's putting it mildly. Don't be shocked to see the team use every possible Red Bull part it can under the regulations. That's something it didn't always do as AlphaTauri or their previous guise, Toro Rosso.

With some new leadership in ex-Ferrari man Laurent Mekies, a solid driver lineup in Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo, new development philosophies, and an influx of sponsorship dollars I think we should expect Visa Cash App RB (Seriously, we need a shorthand for this name; it's ridiculous) to be a pretty solid midfield team.

Follow on X: @Matt_Reigle