How RB wants to pick up Red Bull's baton as F1's fun team

Following a much-discussed identity transformation, RB is attempting to steer its own commercial path in F1 under the shadow of its Red Bull parent team.

Red Bull's sibling team RB aims to go even farther to merge sport and entertainment with its first Hollywood tie-up with the blockbuster Twisters, with the great aim of democratising access to the series.

Though its new name, RB, Racing Bulls or VCARB, seems oddly close to the major squad despite the hopes to carve out its own image, its name change from AlphaTauri was not without debate.

Originally known for its extravagant parties and unforgettable PR activations, Red Bull was F1's fun team when it initially joined in 2005. One year later David Coulthard sporting a Superman cape to advertise Superman Returns, and its pit staff dressed as clone warriors during the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix to further Star Wars Episode III.

Red Bull has evolved into a winning machine since then, keeping most of its antics off the course while the race crew goes to work.

Under its new cover, sibling team RB is attempting to grab the baton and run with it after winning blue-chip sponsors Visa and CashApp and witnessing the popularity its drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda have among young F1 fans.

CEO Peter Bayer revealed the team will aim and integrate F1 with off-track entertainment using its young and fresh character as it introduced it at a Las Vegas launch.

Ahead of the Silverstone Grand Prix, it signed a deal with Warner Bros. to advertise the movie Twisters, in line with its parent team. It also hosted a car wash event at the art-friendly Wynwood area of Miami.

Bayer's off-track aspirations with the team go beyond simply providing value for money to its partners; they also want to increase the team's own popularity among the younger, more varied audience F1 as a whole is aggressively seeking.

Bayer tells Motorsport.com, "the car wash in Miami was probably – really – the best example of what we're trying to achieve."

"We wish to democratise the sport with events where everyone is welcome to participate, combining Formula 1 material with music, art, culture.

"We will also keep pushing on everything that's music as we feel it's one of those global languages everyone knows. We proceeded with the movie Twisters and we have a few of other movie partnerships coming.

"We try and do stuff outside of Formula 1 as many people cannot come to the races, either because it's sold out or because it's too expensive. Hence, we believe that there is a youthful target population not yet served to the degree I would suggest.

"We see young female fans joining us, and it presents exactly the great potential.

"I actually chatted with Twisters' lead actress, Daisy Edgar-Jones, who said she follows the drivers and results and meets all her friends to see the Netflix series.

"That's something which, to be honest, a few years ago was unusual. Formula 1 would have been men like myself with five mates and some beers!"

Therefore, why does Bayer think RB – or VCARB, as he wishes the squad to be known – has been so appealing for sponsors and Hollywood events? You may also read this: Ducati offers Miller factory seat in WSBK after KTM MotoGP Exit

"I believe it's because a new kid on the block is trying to reach out to various audiences we have and acts differently," he says.

"From what I recall, we are the team with the best balanced fan base between male and female; formula 1 is providing us all these insights and statistics. And that is the ideal cinematic target demographic as well."

He nods when told that this type of cooperation would have been a Red Bull one few years ago, not one for its sister team. "Yeah, it's true. Clearly, that's ingrained in Red Bull DNA. Red Bull could have done the cooperation, but it just suits us.

"Red Bull is often referred to as the larger sibling, which is accurate in many respects. They are contesting the world championship. They most certainly have less freedom to accommodate this, and they have a few significant business partners as well.

"Also everything had to happen very quickly in Silverstone and we still have that space, not only physically on the car, but also we can adopt to a partnership like Twisters, which is a win-win situation."

"Many individuals were discussing the synergies and our ways of supporting one another and cooperating. Technically, there is not much to gain; but, on the communication and marketing front, there are plenty of chances for highly significant cooperation."

Bayer believes the team's marketing efforts have also delighted F1 and its CEO Stefano Domenicali since they precisely reflect Liberty Media's intended direction for the series.

"We will keep with our off-track activities; we have a couple of exciting livery changes and launch events coming," he said.

"Formula 1 has been really helpful and appreciative of what we do. I talk with Stefano quite a bit. him loves it as that's exactly how Liberty Media and him envision the sport developing.

"Look at the Silverstone event, where the fan fest is really amazing. You have live musicians and more and more is on tap.

"A grand prix is so much more than only a race weekend nowadays."