What’s really going on with RB’s name change plans for F1 2025

When Red Bull’s second Formula 1 team rebranded to RB at the start of this year, it came after abandoning an original idea to become Racing Bulls.

At the time it was felt that an official title of the ‘Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula 1 team’ was too much of a mouthful, so RB it would be.

Fast forward to now and a change of plan is in the offing. The team is set to go back to what it was intended from the off, replacing its RB moniker with the Racing Bulls tag for the 2025 season.

After a campaign where it has felt that the RB abbreviation has not really engaged with fans or the media, it has reached the conclusion that its initial idea was actually the best.

And it makes most sense, with the official company name being ‘Racing Bulls S.p.A’, its email addresses being from ‘Racing Bulls’ rather than ‘RB’ and most people in the paddock referring to it as that as well.

Speaking to ServusTV about the plans in Brazil, team CEO Peter Bayer said that the shift from RB to Racing Bulls was not as dramatic as some have suggested – and was certainly not a major rebrand.

“Racing Bulls. Visa Cash App Racing Bulls – nothing will actually change,” he said.

Peter Bayer, CEO of RB F1 Team, Laurent Mekies, Team Principal of RB F1 Team

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“The only question throughout the year was: ‘What does RB mean, what does RB mean? Now we’re making it official: RB means Racing Bulls.”

But a change from RB to Racing Bulls, which will formally be confirmed when the FIA publishes its entry list for next year, does not actually mean its entire identity is changing – especially when it comes to the car name.

This is where the situation becomes slightly complex. That is because what we know the chassis name to be – the VCARB01 – isn’t actually officially what the chassis is under the wording of the regulations.

There is a difference in the rules between what the chassis is called, and what the car name is.

According to Article 8.2 of F1’s Sporting Regulations, the official name of the team “must include the name of the chassis.” But the chassis is not the car’s name.

So in FIA terms, there is a chassis definition – where Mercedes has the Mercedes, Ferrari has the Ferrari and RB has the RB.

Then there is what the teams officially call their car – and what we know them to be. Mercedes has labelled its 2024 challenge the W15, Ferrari the SF-24 and RB the VCARB01.

Liam Lawson, RB F1 Team VCARB 01

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

For next year, it is understood RB’s chassis on the entry list will be known as the ‘Racing Bulls’, while its car will be called the VCARB02.

And while the Racing Bulls identity will be more obvious next year, it is understood that much of the current Visa CashApp RB branding and its logo will remain identical – as that happily works from a corporate perspective.

Additional reporting by Frederik Hackbarth