Explained: The ‘Racing Bulls’ entry list confusion surrounding rebranded F1 team

The FIA’s entry list for the 2024 F1 season caused confusion after including Red Bull’s rebranded AlphaTauri squad under the ‘Racing Bulls’ moniker.

On Wednesday Red Bull announced that Visa Cash App RB would be the new identity for the team formerly known as AlphaTauri and Toro Rosso during the upcoming 2024 season.

The deal led to question marks over how fans and media will refer to Red Bull’s sister team under the new guise, following reports last year that the team was set to be called ‘Racing Bulls’.

ESPN reported that suggestion was “met with resistance internally” and led to the RB acronym being used instead. It is understood that within the Red Bull company the team is being referred to as VCARB.

The FIA entry list - released on the same day as the announcement - confirmed Red Bull’s second team has been entered by a company named ‘Racing Bulls S.p.A’, prompting speculation this could be what the ‘RB’ refers to.

However, RaceFans report the initials ‘RB’ in the new name does not stand for ‘Racing Bulls’, which was trademarked by a Red Bull-owned company last year.

‘Racing Bulls S.p.A’ also appears on the team’s new website and ‘RB’ is the name given to the chassis, but it does not stand for anything.

As well as competing under a new name, the Faenza-based outfit will be led by a new team principal in 2024, with Laurent Mekies joining from Ferrari to replace the long-serving Franz Tost, who stepped down at the end of last season.

Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda will once again drive for the team that finished eighth in last year’s constructors’ championship.