F1 News
AlphaTauri disappears and THIS could be the team's new name
- Ludo van Denderen
It has been known for a while that the AlphaTauri name will disappear from Formula 1 after the current season. Since then, there has been speculation about what the Italian team will be called then. Various media report that negotiations are ongoing with a well-known clothing brand to be the name sponsor of Red Bull Racing's sister team from next season.
Red Bull has no plans to sell AlphaTauri - the former Toro Rosso - although there was some interest in taking over. Even a concrete offer of one billion dollars was reportedly rejected. The Red Bull group wants to keep AlphaTauri within its ranks and instead further strengthen ties with big brother Red Bull Racing. This will optimise cooperation in building the cars. To achieve this, a large part of the AlphaTauri cars will not be made in Italy from next season, but in England.
Boss or Boss Orange
So there will be a different name for the team, though. Hugo Boss is in advanced negotiations to soon carry the team's name. Incidentally, it is still unclear exactly what the team will be called: that will be Boss or Boss Orange, after Hugo Boss' two brands. In any case, the deal is going to bring Red Bull a big bag of money. With Hugo Boss' sponsorship income, the team will basically become self-reliant, something Red Bull has long pursued.
Hugo Boss is no stranger to motorsport. For years, the brand was associated with McLaren. This season, it is one of Aston Martin's sponsors. Yet the sponsorship deal in the pipeline with AlphaTauri cannot be compared to the partnerships Hugo Boss has had with other racing teams before.