Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Visa Cash App RB

  • Racing Bulls unveil special livery for British GP

    Racing Bulls and their partner HUGO have unveiled a special livery for the British Grand Prix in collaboration with Nigerian artist Slawn.

    Revealed by Slawn along with Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar at the Flannels X store in London this evening, the link-up sees VCARB 02 adorned with Slawn’s caricature style street art.

    The artwork will also feature on the drivers’ race suits and the team’s kit across the weekend, while Slawn will also be in the paddock on Thursday alongside Lawson and Hadjar where the squad say he will be “designing the garage IRL”.

    Slawn’s famed graffiti aesthetic – rooted in his Yoruba heritage and London’s urban culture – has seen him make his name in the city’s art landscape.
    He also has previously made a foray into the world of sports, having designed the Emirate FA Cup Trophy in May this year.

    Slawn’s work is unlike anything we’ve seen in Formula 1, and that’s exactly why this collaboration felt right. Partnering with HUGO and Slawn has allowed us to push creative boundaries in a way that reflects the bold identity of our team. Silverstone is a massive moment in the season, and we’re proud to bring something completely original to our fans.

    Witnessing the big reveal of Slawn’s fresh, energetic art on the VCARB Team’s new livery and his exciting takeover will consolidate HUGO’s ambition to take F1 further off-track and into culture. This collaboration is a brilliant demonstration of the power of going your own way, which is at the core of HUGO and VCARB’s DNA. All eyes will be on VCARB during the action at Silverstone.
    James Foster, SVP of Global Marketing at Hugo Boss.

  • Hadjar signs for RB

    Isack Hadjar will be making his Formula 1 debut this year as he takes the final seat on the grid after agreeing a deal to become Yuki Tsunoda’s teammate at RB.

    Red Bull Junior, Hadjar impressed in his second season in Formula 2, he finished as runner-up to Kick Sauber bound Gabriel Bortoleto with Campos Racing.

    After Sergio Perez was confirmed to be parting ways with Red Bull ahead of the 2025 season, Liam Lawson stepped up from RB in his place meaning there was a vacancy at RB for Hadjar.
    Red Bull opted to make Hadjar the 19th driver promoted to F1 from their junior programme, which began back in 2001.

    He follows in the footsteps of four time world champions Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel as well as eight time race winner Daniel Ricciardo.

    I’m very excited to step into my new role at VCARB. This is huge for myself, my family and all the people who have believed in me from the beginning. The journey from karting through the ranks in single-seaters, to now being in Formula 1 is the moment I’ve working towards my whole life – it is the dream. I feel like I’m stepping into a whole new universe, driving a much faster car and racing with the best drivers in the world. It’ll be a huge learning curve, but I’m ready to work hard and do the best I can for the team. I look forward to working with and learning from Yuki. I’ve always looked up to him, he went through the Red Bull junior programme like myself and we’ve shared a similar path to F1. He’s very experienced and will be good to learn from.
    Hadjar on the news

    We’re excited to have Isack with us next year, bringing a new and fresh dynamic to the team alongside Yuki in 2025. His journey to Formula 1 has been nothing short of outstanding. He has shown remarkable growth, with a series of impressive results in the junior single-seater ranks. He has the talent and drive necessary to compete at the highest level, and we have every confidence that he will adapt quickly and make a significant impact. I believe Isack and Yuki will make a great team. Yuki brings invaluable experience to the team. He’s shown incredible resilience and maturity, which will be crucial for the team as we strive to hit all our aims and objectives in 2025.
    Team Principal, Laurent Mekies.

    Firstly, we must congratulate Liam for his step up to Red Bull Racing. As a sister team and as an incubator for Formula 1 talent, our strategic objective is to foster and nurture our drivers in preparation for this next step. With his move and by bringing Isack into VCARB, it’s a testament to our longstanding commitment to develop the best young drivers in motorsport, as well as proof of concept of the Red Bull junior programme. Having a younger driver supports our mission to speak to a younger audience, so we look forward to bringing new and existing fans on the journey with us.
    CEO, Peter Bayer.

  • Rafaela Ferreira signs with RB

    RB have announced that they will be fielding Brazilian driver Rafaela Ferreira for the 2025 F1 Academy season.

    Ferreira stepped up to single seater after achieving karting success in her home country, becoming the first women to score a pole position in the 2022 Copa Brasil de Kart, where she finished fourth in the Championship.

    The following year she secured one podium in the F4 Brazilian Championship, racing at the Interlagos Circuit during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend.

    Returning for a second campaign this year, she made history as the series’ first female winner and currently sits fourth in the Championship, with two wins and a further five podiums to her name.

    The team also took the opportunity to thank current driver, Amna Al Qubaisi for her hard work this season, with the Emirati driver set to depart F1 Academy as she reaches her maximum two-season stint.

    I’m extremely happy to be driving for the Visa Cash App RB Academy Programme in F1 ACADEMY in 2025. This opportunity represents a big step in my career, and is a dream come true to work with a team that has so much talent. I’m determined to give my best and go after great results. It’ll be something new for me, but I’m confident that we will achieve a lot together. I’m already preparing and am excited for next year!
    Ferreira on the news.

    Everyone at the Team is hugely excited to welcome Rafaela to the VCARB family. Rafaela is an exceptional emerging Brazilian talent, and we’re pleased to share this global, and empowering, platform to compete, race, and grow together. F1 ACADEMY has been a great success this season, the exposure that it’s generated for women’s motorsport is revolutionary. I hope we can continue to inspire the next generation of female talent in motorsports, and we look forward to seeing Rafaela grow and flourish as a driver. The Team would also like to thank Amna for her commitment across the season, we look forward to watching her progress and wish her the best of luck in the next phase of her career.
    RB Team Principal, Laurent Mekies.

    We’ve been impressed by Rafaela’s performance this season and are very pleased to welcome her to the Team and work with her in F1 ACADEMY in 2025. Rafaela has great talent and potential and has already cemented herself as a race winner in Brazil. I’m looking forward to supporting her development and am excited to see what next season brings.
    Red Bull Academy Programme Manager, Sarah Harrington.

  • Lawson to replace Ricciardo for remainder of season

    New Zealander Liam Lawson will be replacing Daniel Ricciardo at RB alongside Yuki Tsunoda for the remainder of the season.

    Red Bull and RB confirmed Ricciardo would be leaving the team and expressed their gratitude for his efforts across two stints with the Red Bull family.

    Ricciardo returned to a Formula 1 race seat last year in Hungary with AlphaTauri and stayed on when they became RB for this season.
    Ricciardo scored points on five occasions, including a superb fourth in the Sprint in Miami, and sits 14th in the drivers’ standings, 10 points behind teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

    However, his form hasn’t been enough to convince the Red Bull family to keep him on. It remains unclear what the future holds for Ricciardo but it’s very unlikely to involve a race seat on the 2025 Formula 1 grid.

    RB then announced Lawson would step up from his reserve role, which he’s held since 2022 starting with the upcoming United States Grand Prix in Austin.

    Lawson first made his Grand Prix debut at Zandvoort last year as a super sub for injured Ricciardo.
    The 22 year old delivered an impressive set of results across a five race period, including his first points with ninth at the Singapore Grand Prix.

    Everyone here at VCARB would like to thank Daniel for his hard work across the last two seasons with us. He has brought a lot of experience and talent to the Team with a fantastic attitude, which has helped everyone to develop and foster a tight team spirit. Daniel has been a true gentleman both on and off the track and never without that smile. He will be missed, but will always hold a special place within the Red Bull family. I’d also like to take this opportunity to welcome Liam. He already knows the Team well. He drove for us last season, and coped well under difficult circumstances, so it’ll be a natural transition. It’s great to see young talent from within the Red Bull family make the next step. We’re looking forward to getting our heads down and focusing on the rest of the season together.
    Laurent Mekies on the news.

  • Lawson vs Ricciardo

    Red Bull’s Formula 1 advisor, Helmut Marko has hinted that Liam Lawson could replace Daniel Ricciardo at RB in 2025.

    RB’s announcement early last month that Yuki Tsunoda will be remaining with the team next season which has guaranteed that either Ricciardo or Lawson will miss out on a seat.

    While Ricciardo currently races for the team, the Australian driver has failed to extract consistent results and lies 9 points behind his teammate this season.
    So his struggles this year have dashed his chances of a dream return to the senior Red Bull team as Sergio Perez has been handed a multi-year contract extension.

    RB has admitted that retaining Ricciardo with Tsunoda would be its preference, but Marko has revealed that Red Bull shareholders are angling to see youth integrated.

    Lawson has completed several F1 outings as he deputised at five rounds last season when Ricciardo was sidelined with a broken metacarpal from a crash at Zandvoort.

    The New Zealander, who has been linked to Sauber, will be allowed to chase a move elsewhere should Red Bull not promote him, indicating Marko is referencing 2025.

    So, who will it be? Liam Lawson or Daniel Ricciardo in the VCARB… time will only tell.

    Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Visa Cash App RB looks on from the pitwall prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on June 30, 2024 in...

  • Tsunoda to stay as RB driver for 2025

    Yuki Tsunoda will continue racing for RB in 2025, with the team confirming that they have taken up the option on their agreement with the Japanese driver to keep him at the squad next season.

    After making his debut with the team in 2021, Tsunoda has continued to progress and in 2024 so far has become a regular points-scorer, having finished in the top 10 five of the nine Grands Prix so far.

    While the drivers market speculation continues at pace – with several teams still yet to finalise their line-ups for 2025 – RB have now secured one driver by extending the Japanese drivers contract.

    Tsunoda’s strong run of points has put him in P10 of the drivers’ standings with a tally of 19, while RB hold a lonely sixth place in the constructors’ championship with 28 points, 30 points away from Aston Martin in fifth.

    I’m very happy to be staying with Visa Cash App RB and it’s a good feeling to have my future decided so early in the year. For that, I want to thank everyone at Red Bull and Honda who have played such an important role in my career and will continue to do so. The team has a big development project ahead and I’m excited to be part of it. It’s great to know that everyone appreciates all the hard work I have put in and that the team believes I can help it move further up the grid. We have already made clear progress this season and that really motivates me to always give my best and that’s what I’ll continue to do with VCARB. For the moment, I’m concentrating on the remaining races this season, with the aim of bringing home as many points as possible, always growing with the team, laying the groundwork to do even better next year!
    Tsunoda on the news.

    I watched Yuki’s progress in Formula 1 with interest even before I returned to Faenza and it’s been impressive, year after year. The step up he has made this year is simply phenomenal, and he keeps surprising us all, race after race. There’s no doubting his natural speed to which he has now added a much more mature approach and this combination makes him a very quick and consistent performer, and a great team player. We continue to get a better understanding of what he needs from us and vice versa, so we are progressing together, Yuki as a driver and the team, as Visa Cash App RB. We share the same ambitions, so there are several good reasons to continue our journey together. He still has a lot to give!
    Laurent Mekies, RB Team Principal.

    Yuki is a graduate of both the Red Bull and Honda Junior Driver programmes and it’s thanks to a good job from all parties that he’s been able to reach his current level of performance. As the saying goes, ‘never change a winning team’, so we are delighted to confirm Yuki as part of our future. He is a valuable asset on and off the race track, as his engaging nature has made him very popular with fans around the world. We are excited that he is staying with us.
    Peter Bayer, CEO at RB.

  • Ayumu Iwasa to make F1 Debut at Japanese GP

    RB have announced that Super Formula racer Ayumu Iwasa will make his Formula 1 weekend debut at the Japanese Grand Prix by appearing in free practice with the team.

    Iwasa, 22, is set to drive Daniel Ricciardo’s car during FP1 at Suzuka next week, meaning an all-Japanese RB line-up alongside Yuki Tsunoda for the opening session.

    Iwasa finished fourth in last year’s F2 standings, where he took three race victories and three further podiums across the season, along with one pole position.
    He made the move to the Japan-based Super Formula championship for 2024, scoring points on debut at the Suzuka opener earlier this month.

    While the outing will mark Iwasa’s practice debut, it will not be his first time in an F1 car, having driven for the then-named Alpha Tauri at last year’s F1 post-season test in Abu Dhabi.

    Under F1’s current regulations, each team must run a rookie – by definition a driver who has started two or fewer Grand Prix – in two FP1 sessions over the course of each campaign.

  • MP Motorsport announce F1 Academy drivers

    MP Motorsport will be fielding an unchanged roster with race winners Hamda Al Qubaisi, Amna Al Qubaisi and Emely De Heus all embarking on their second F1 Academy season.

    Driving for Red Bull Racing, Hamda will be the highest-placed returning driver in the field. The 21 year old Emirati racer fought hard to secure third in the Drivers’ Standings with four wins to her name.

    23 year old, Amna will be competing for Visa Cash App RB, having claimed two wins in Spielberg and Barcelona alongside a further two podium finishes last year.

    Emely De Heus will drive for Red Bull and will be looking to build upon her top nine finish last year after achieving one victory and two podiums.

    We are thrilled to be welcoming Hamda, Emely and Amna, three incredibly talented drivers, into the Red Bull Academy Programme and are looking forward to working with them closely this season. This is a landmark moment for us and is testament to our complete commitment to the future of women’s motorsport. F1 ACADEMY provides an opportunity to promote genuine change in our industry and this is a great stepping-stone to help ensure that the drivers progress to the next level. This is a pivotal moment for women in motorsport and we are excited to see what this season brings.

    Sarah Harrington, Red Bull Academy Programme Manager.

    I’m happy to confirm Hamda, Amna and Emely as our F1 ACADEMY line-up for 2024 and as members of the Red Bull Academy programme. This means we will stick with the drivers whose talent we are familiar with — all three have already become true members of the MP Motorsport family in recent years. Together, we look forward to a challenging new F1 ACADEMY season in which we hope to repeat and further improve on our strong 2023 results. Hamda proved to be one of the title favourites while Amna and Emely each took their wins. And since we narrowly missed out on the teams’ title last year, we hope to go one better this year! Also, I’m grateful for Red Bull’s unwavering support of our efforts and we aim for a successful partnership together.

    Sander Dorsman, MP Motorsport Team Principal.

  • AlphaTauri rebrand confirmed

    AlphaTauri will emerge from the Formula 1 winter break with an all-new team name after the decision was made to undergo a rebranding to RB ahead to the 2024 campaign.

    Red Bull’s sister outfit joined the grid back in 2006 and initially raced under the Toro Rosso guise but were renamed as AlphaTauri from 2020 to promote the company’s fashion brand.

    From 2024 onwards, they will be known as RB (with the full team name being Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team) marking a stronger reference to the Red Bull operation who have benefitted from bringing in a host of junior drivers with the Faenza squad.

    Over the years, the likes of four time champion Sebastian Vettel, three time champion Max Verstappen and multiple race winner Daniel Ricciardo built up valuable experience at the outfit before progressing to Red Bull.

    Highlights of AlphaTauri’s spell in F1 include a remarkable victory for Pierre Gasly at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, a result that brought back memories of Vettel’s breakthrough triumph in 2008 during the Toro Rosso days.

    This year, Yuki Tsunoda will enter his fourth F1 season at RB, while Ricciardo keeps his spot after replacing Nyck de Vries midway through the 2023 season and returning from injuries he sustained in a practice session at Zandvoort.

    In addition to Mekies arriving at Tost’s replacement after the Austrian’s 18 year stint at the team, another recent change at the top of team saw Peter Bayer come in from the FIA, overseeing operations as CEO.

  • VCARB 01

    The newly-rebranded RB team have unveiled their 2024 challenger – the VCARB 01 – at a glittering event in Las Vegas.

    It has been all change for the Faenza-based quad for 2023, after they brought their AlphaTauri era to a close following the conclusion of last season, and that includes a livery change.

    While AlphaTauri’s design predominantly showcased dark blue and white, the new RB car will sport a sparkling blue and white livery, which takes it back to the designs of the Toro Rosso car.

    The car was obviously the star of the show at the launch event in Las Vegas, with the team’s new CEO Peter Bayer present and the new Team Principal Laurent Mekies.
    Also on stage at the event, alongside drivers Ricciardo and Tsunoda, was Amna Al-Qubaisi, who will be carrying the team’s colours in F1 Academy this year.

    There’s also been a host of changes to the operation ahead of this year’s campaign, with three experienced technical and trackside personnel signing on recently.

    One of those is Alan Permane – who departed Alpine as their Sporting Director midway through last season – as he takes up the role of Racing Director.
    Tim Goss will also take on the role of Chief Technical Officer in October. While Guillaume Cattelani joined the team as Deputy Technical Director, reporting to Technical Director Jody Egginton.

    As for the drivers, they will be hoping for a more successful season, with AlphaTauri finishing P8 in the constructors’ last year. The Australian will be wanting a smoother campaign, having started 2023 away from the F1 grid before his dramatic return was halted by a broken hand after the summer break.