The Infiniti Red Bull Racing team will be rebrand for the 2016 Formula One season, following a title sponsor change. The name change will be affective at the end of December and is just one of the many changes in store for the team in 2016.
Nissan, an automotive company based in Japan, has decided that it will be cutting ties with the Austrian based Formula One team at the end of the year. As a result, the company will also be taking away Red Bull’s title sponsor, Infiniti, as the company is a division of Nissan. This news comes one year before their original contract states. This loss of partnership also means that Red Bull Racing will not receive the light commercial vans from Nissan anymore.
Infiniti first joined the Red Bull Formula One team as a commercial sponsor in 2011, the season after their first World Constructors’ Championship title. In 2013, Infiniti became the title sponsor of the team, rebranding it Infiniti Red Bull Racing. During that time, Red Bull Racing became a dominant motorsport team, winning the World Constructors’ Championship four consecutive times and Infiniti received a lot of publicity, as a result.
The agreement was reportedly mutual, so it is implied that neither party will own funds for terminating their contract before its term. It isn’t all sad for Red Bull Racing though, as TAG Heuer will be making the move from McLaren to Red Bull. TAG Heuer is a Swiss accessories manufacturing company that specializes in watches that has been present in Formula One for many years.
In 2016, the Red Bull Racing team will be running a power unit branded TAG Heuer. The power unit will actually be provided by Renault, with whom Red Bull was able to negotiate a new engine supplier contract for 2016.