The History of Visa Cashapp Racing Bulls F1 Team

Whether you just got into Formula One or have been in the sport for several years, Red Bull's sister team is no stranger to you.

(Image Credits to Red Bull)

Despite the trendy content on their social media pages, would you believe that the Racing Bulls F1 team is actually older than their rookie driver Arvid Lindblad by a year? If that is new to you, you’d be pleasantly surprised by what other history this 19 year old team is hiding. 

Back in 2005, Minardi F1 Team majority owner Paul Stoddart sold his shares to the owner of Red Bull, Dietrich Mateschitz. The team was then rebranded into Scuderia Toro Rosso, more commonly known as simply Toro Rosso, and was promoted as Red Bull’s “junior team”.

The team operated under that branding until 2019, and in that time, Toro Rosso was home to several notable names in Formula One, such as Sebastian Vettel (who gave the team their first pole position and win), Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz Jr., Pierre Gasly, and Alex Albon. 

After rebranding to Scuderia AlphaTauri, or more commonly known as AlphaTauri, in 2020 to promote Red Bull’s fashion brand with the driver pairing of Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat, the team achieved both their first win and podium under that branding at that year's Italian Grand Prix. In 2021, AlphaTauri signed Yuki Tsunoda to the team to replace Daniil Kvyat. That year, the team achieved 6th position overall in the WCC standings, and Tsunoda achieved his highest Formula 1 finishing position of 4th at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. 

The team continued with that driver pairing until 2023 in which Nyck de Vries was signed to replace Gasly after his move to Alpine. This pair did not last very long, however, as de Vries was dropped by the team after the Hungarian Grand Prix and was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo, who at the time was a Red Bull reserve driver. Due to a metacarpal injury at that year's Dutch Grand Prix, current VCARB driver, and familiar face, Liam Lawson subbed in as Ricciardo’s replacement for five races that year. 

Another rebrand happened in 2024 with the team now being called RB but continued with their driver pairing from the year before. Over that year's summer break, there were several discussions on Ricciardo and Lawson’s future at the team, still, nothing was confirmed until four days after the Singapore Grand Prix where it was announced that Lawson would be fully replacing Ricciardo for the remainder of the season. 

2025 brought yet another rebrand for the team after backlash from the previous name and changed to Racing Bulls, the name that we now know and love. Tsunoda remained at the team, while Lawson was moved to Red Bull to replace Sergio Perez, and F2 graduate Isack Hadjar was brought into the Racing Bulls seat. However, after two races, Lawson and Tsunoda swapped seats, promoting the latter to the Red Bull team for the first time in his 5 year career with the team. This year brought the team their first podium under the RB/Racing Bulls branding at the Dutch Grand Prix, in which Hadjar scored P3. Overall, the team was consistent and finished the year with an overall position of P6 in the WCC standings. 

This year has brought a new engine and a new driver for the team, with them switching to Ford power units and bringing in other familiar face Arvid Lindblad into the team. Isack Hadjar was promoted to the Red Bull team following the demotion of Yuki Tsunoda, who is now a reserve driver for the team. The pairing of Lawson and Lindblad has brought the team four double point finishes and has brought them their highest points standing position of P5 since 2020 when they were still branded as AlphaTauri. 

Nowadays, the team is known for not only their driving but also for their social media presence. The team’s TikTok page has garnered nearly 80 million likes as well as over 2.4 million followers, while their Youtube channel has recently hit over 1 million subscribers. This has, no doubt, brought in a new wave of both F1 and Racing Bull team fans. Overall, whether you know all of the team’s history, or weren’t aware that the team was older than one of their very own drivers, the team’s iconicness and legacy are nothing new. 

Article Written by Lizzie Kae