Bottas: New Stake F1 rebrand a 'fresh start' for team

The new name comes following Alfa Romeo's departure as the Sauber-owned outfit gears up towards Audi's entry in 2026.

Alfa Romeo held naming rights from 2019 to 2023 but has now left the grid having been unable to secure a deal elsewhere.

Stake, as the team is now known as, is still owned by operated by Sauber and unveiled its car for the upcoming campaign earlier this week.

It enters the season following a disappointing 2023 campaign that saw it fall to ninth place in the Constructors' Championship.

Despite an unchanged driver line-up of Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, the former has stated that the rebrand can act as a new beginning for the team.

“When you see the visuals of the team and when you see the car and all this, it's almost like a fresh start,” Bottas told media including RacingNews365.

“It almost feels like a new team. Obviously, it’s lots of the same people, but I think it just represents the mindset of the team, that we do things our way and there's no limit to what we can do.

“A fresh start and a fresh opportunity - it’s exciting.”

Bottas added that Stake is focused on stronger results after its disappointing campaign last year.

“Looking at last year's performance, it would be more teams like Alpine [that we're targeting],” Bottas said.

“We don't want to be fighting towards the back. We need to be on the better side of the mid-pack.”