Sauber are in a difficult position after a new report (Image: Getty)
could be forced to change the name of their team for the next season after the Gambling Commission banned title sponsor Stake from the UK market.
Stake signed a two-year title sponsorship agreement with Sauber ahead of the 2024 season, replacing the departing Alfa Romeo and bridging the gap to Audi’s arrival in the sport in 2026. The Hinwil-based squad have since been registered under the Stake F1 Team moniker.
However, in some locations where F1 visits, gambling sponsorship is highly regulated and restricted. Therefore, Sauber was registered as the Kick F1 Team at the races in Australia, Belgium, and Qatar, among other places. Kick is a live-streaming platform backed by the founders of Stake.
The British GP could now become the ninth race at which Sauber uses the Kick F1 Team name. Title sponsor Stake is giving up its licence to operate in Great Britain, according to the Gambling Commission.
A statement released on Wednesday read: “TGP (the operator of Stake’s UK website) has previously been the subject of enforcement action and after a meeting with the Commission have stated they will immediately stop accepting new registrations to the Stake.uk.com platform and remove redirection links from the main Stake website.
“Final shutdown of the Great Britain site will take place by 11 March 2025.”
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Sauber used the Kick F1 Team moniker in Abu Dhabi, and at seven other races (Image: Getty)
The news follows a Gambling Commission investigation into the company after a video featuring adult film actress Bonnie Blue circulated on an affiliated social media account with a Stake advertising banner applied. The post has since been deleted.
Sauber’s attention now turns to the F1 75 Live event, where all 10 teams will reveal their 2025 liveries to a crowd of 15,000 fans at The O2. The groundbreaking experience was organised to celebrate the series’ 75th anniversary. Tickets for the show sold out in under an hour, and some have commanded four-figure fees on the resale market.
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The Hinwil squad hope that their 2025 challenger will represent a step forward from the C44, which narrowly avoided a pointless season thanks to ’s career-best finish at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Strong development late in the campaign brought Sauber back into the midfield for the final handful of races, but for the majority of the season, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou were driving the slowest car in both qualifying and the Grand Prix.
Express Sport has approached the Stake F1 Team for comment.