Red Bull drops hint over new name for AlphaTauri F1 team after talks with fashion giants

Red Bull are negotiating with fashion giant Hugo Boss over a potential naming deal for their sister Formula 1 team.

The energy drinks giant’s in house clothing brand AlphaTauri is currently being used to name the team which used to be known as Toro Rosso. But that arrangement will come to an end at the conclusion of this season.

Red Bull chiefs decided against a sale of the second team after an internal review of its operations. But extensive changes will be made across many aspects, including a new team principal in the form of Laurent Mekies, replacing long-serving stalwart Franz Tost.

That’s one of the changes Red Bull hope will make their sister team more competitive. And the other focus is upon making it profitable – such as the plan to focus more of its efforts on its UK base in Bicester rather than the Faenza HQ in Italy.

And a rebranding is also part of that plan. The AlphaTauri name has been used for the past four seasons, including the current campaign, but that branding will be scrapped and a return to the Toro Rosso name is off the table.

According to Motorsport.com, Red Bull are in negotiations with Hugo Boss over a potential title sponsorship for next season. And Polish oil company ORLEN, AlphaTauri’s current main sponsor, is also believed to be in the frame. But it is not currently known what the name of the team would become if either of those brands were to strike a deal.

Hugo Boss is already involved in F1 as a sponsor of the Aston Martin team, with ‘BOSS’ lettering seen on the AMR23 cars. The brand has also previously worked with McLaren and is said to be keep on increasing its visibility in the F1 world.

Hugo Boss currently sponsors Aston Martin, with its logo on the inside of the front wing endplates and the wing mirrors of the AMR23

That idea is being driven by chief executive Daniel Grieder and his own personal passion for the sport. He is also a previous executive at Tommy Hilfiger, a rival fashion brand which has had a long-time partnership with Lewis Hamilton and, by extension, the Mercedes team.

AlphaTauri chief executive Peter Bayer said: “We are discussing with several companies who are very interested in working with us in the future but at this time there is no information to be released.”

And outgoing team principal Tost added: “The title sponsor is a very attractive one, and we will see then what the negotiations will bring in the next months. We are talking to different companies. Fortunately, there is a big interest.”