F1 sponsor explains 'mouthful' team name

Formula 1's latest sponsor comes in the form of payment card services Visa, who will be the global title sponsor of Red Bull's sister team.

Visa has taken over the naming rights of the Faenza-based outfit that has been called AlphaTauri since 2020, rebranding it to the Visa Cash App RB F1 team.

While the billion dollar American company is the third to join Red Bull as a sponsor in the last two years alongside Oracle and Hard Rock International, the name has been viewed as an eyesore to fans.

Senior vice president of global sponsorship strategy, Andrea Fairchild, has admitted that the name is a "mouthful" in an interview with AP.

“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,” said Fairchild.

“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 decide

While variations of the name have included 'V-CARB' appearing since the announcement, the official FIA entry list shows 'RB' as the name of the chassis.

Fairchild believes it will be down to fans in how they reference it, but is open to feedback for the future.

“The fans will certainly decide how they reference it. It is our formal name that we’ve introduced to the marketplace," said Fairchild.

"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.”