TEAM PREVIEW: With a new name and changes at the top, can RB move forwards in 2024?

A new name, new Team Principal and new personnel – it's all change at RB ahead of the 2024 season. The outfit formerly known as AlphaTauri will be led by Laurent Mekies as Team Principal, following the retirement of Franz Tost, and have ambitious plans going forward. But can they reverse their fortunes for the upcoming season? Here’s everything you need to know about the team and their goals for the upcoming campaign…

Drivers for 2024

Daniel Ricciardo #3: 8 Grand Prix wins, 32 podiums, 1317 points, 239 starts
Yuki Tsunoda #22: 61 points, best finish of P4, 66 starts

After initially looking set to spend 2023 on the sidelines as Red Bull’s reserve driver, Daniel Ricciardo made a comeback to the grid to replace the struggling Nyck de Vries midway through the year.

The Australian previously raced for the team in their former Toro Rosso guise at the start of his now extensive F1 career, before stints with Red Bull, Renault and McLaren followed.

Yuki Tsunoda, meanwhile, is entering his fourth campaign in the sport with the outfit after what was his strongest season in Formula 1 so far in 2023.

Last season

It was a tough start to the season for the Red Bull sister squad. Pressure quickly mounted on De Vries, with the Dutch driver struggling to match Tsunoda in the opening stages of the campaign.

Ricciardo was brought in prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix, but there were further problems when he broke a bone in his hand during practice at his third weekend back in action in the Netherlands. Reserve driver Liam Lawson then stood in for five races and impressed many with his performances, even scoring points at the Singapore Grand Prix.

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With five races remaining in the season, Ricciardo returned and enjoyed a particularly strong weekend in Mexico, while Tsunoda scored points in three of the final five weekends, giving the team a slightly more positive end to the year.

History

The RB outfit started life as Minardi, a team that competed in F1 from 1985 to the end of 2005. It was at this point that Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz bought the squad, which was initially named Toro Rosso.

In the years that followed Toro Rosso acted as a feeder team for Red Bull, with many of the outfit’s drivers – including Ricciardo and Max Verstappen – racing for the squad in the early stages of their careers. Sebastian Vettel memorably scored their first win at the Italian Grand Prix in 2008.

The team became AlphaTauri in 2020 and underwent another transformation in 2024 following the name change to RB.

They continue to be based in Faenza, Italy, but will be moving their UK base from Bicester to Milton Keynes as they look to build a closer relationship with their sister outfit Red Bull.

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Greatest achievement

Along with Vettel’s aforementioned victory, the team’s other great moment came at the same track when Pierre Gasly took a surprise win at Monza in 2020.

In what was an incredible Italian Grand Prix the Frenchman took full advantage after polesitter Lewis Hamilton was forced to serve a 10-second stop/go penalty for diving into the pit lane when it was closed, after the Safety Car was brought out as Kevin Magnussen's Haas was recovered.

Hamilton served this penalty once the race had been restarted on Lap 28 of 53, following a 25-minute red flag period after Charles Leclerc crashed heavily at the Parabolica. That left Gasly at the head of the field, after he'd pitted before the Safety Car was brought out, and the Frenchman brilliantly held on for a sensational maiden win.

One key goal for 2024

In his many years at the helm, Tost long held the goal of the team achieving P5 in the constructors’ championship. This target never materialised, with P6 being the squad’s best result.

READ MORE: 10 years since Daniel Ricciardo’s first Red Bull spell – the Australian’s rollercoaster F1 journey since

With an increasingly close midfield, reaching that elusive fifth place seems like a sizeable challenge for RB. But following a raft of changes amongst their personnel – including the arrival of Alan Permane as Racing Director and Guillaume Cattelani as Deputy Technical Director – they will certainly be aiming to move forwards after finishing in P9 and P8 respectively in 2022 and 2023.