The final point in the Alfa Romeo’s connection to Sauber, after five seasons in the Formula 1 World Championship (2019 to 2023), forced the team based in Hinwill, Zurich, Switzerland, to find a new partnership until 2026, the year of the association with Audi. The solution was the extension of the sponsorship agreement with Stake, a company specialized in sports betting and cryptocurrency originating from Australia and headquartered in the tax haven of Curaçao in the Caribbean, which gave its name to the team for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Thus, in the 75th edition of the World Championship, which is scheduled to start on March 2nd at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain, and with a record number of races (24), not counting the six weekends during the season with Sprint races, Stake instead of Alfa Romeo on the starting grids. However, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), Liberty Media, and Sauber did not anticipate or ignore the problem!
Many countries with races on the World Championship calendar (including Switzerland, the Sauber base) prohibit advertising activities carried out by Stake, considering them to promote illicit businesses and be socially irresponsible. These restrictions, among the 22 nations with races in the championship, exist in eight (Qatar, Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Bahrain, China, and Brazil), and Stake is even banned in Australia!
The agreement with Stake earns Sauber about $100 million, that is, over €91.2 million, and neither the FIA nor Liberty Media, the American entity promoting the championship, questioned the legitimacy of the new team name with a presentation scheduled for February 5th, which is owned by Easygo Gaming, a company under investigation by Australian police authorities for suspicion of criminal activity, including money laundering.
The advertising for Stake was displayed on the cars of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu in the 2023 World Championship, but the team and sponsor reacted to all restrictions by using the Kick brand, the name of the Stake’s streaming platform! Thus, in 2024, in nine major races, instead of Stake F1 Team, there will be Kick F1 Team cars on the starting grids! Among the celebrities who have agreements with the casino are Argentine football star Sergio Aguero and Indo-Canadian rapper Karan Aujla.
The official name of the Swiss-licensed team is Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber.
