Visa Cash App RB

Here’s a team that doesn’t always get the credit it deserves: Visa Cash App RB. Formerly known as AlphaTauri, and Toro Rosso before that, this is Red Bull’s sister squad and one of the most important driver development programmes in all of Formula 1. Based in Faenza, Italy, this operation has served as the proving ground for future champions and race winners — Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo — the list is genuinely remarkable.

Founded as Toro Rosso in 2006 after Red Bull acquired the old Minardi team, the Faenza outfit has consistently punched well above its weight. The team’s crowning moment? That sensational victory at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix when Sebastian Vettel, just 21 years old, won in the rain at Monza to become the youngest race winner in F1 history at that time. If you haven’t seen the footage, do yourself a favour and look it up.

At the Australian Grand Prix, RB adds real depth to the Red Bull family’s presence on the grid. Because of their development role, young drivers making their Albert Park debut often do so in RB machinery, bringing fresh energy and genuine enthusiasm to the Melbourne weekend. And the team’s Italian heritage? That resonates perfectly with Melbourne’s large Italian-Australian community.

Team Information

Team Profile

RB heads into 2026 with Yuki Tsunoda and rookie Isack Hadjar, keeping the team’s proud tradition of developing young talent for the wider Red Bull programme alive and well. Under Laurent Mekies, who joined from Ferrari, the operation has taken on a more structured and professional feel. Tsunoda has grown into a quick and combative racer — one of the midfield’s most dangerous qualifiers — while Hadjar arrives as the reigning Formula 2 champion with immense upside. The 2026 regulations, combined with Honda RBPT power units shared with the senior Red Bull team, give RB a seriously strong technical foundation to build on.

NC — Staff sports writer, australiafootball.com