Next weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix starting grid will look a little different after it was confirmed that one of the teams will be racing under a different name.
Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber will instead operate under the streamlined title of Kick Sauber for the upcoming race at Zandvoort.
The Swiss outfit have been forced to implement a temporary name change due to strict gambling advertising laws in place in the Netherlands.
Their betting sponsor is normally displayed on the side of the car, as well as on the racing suits of team drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, but that won’t be the case next weekend.
An official Sauber team statement issued to GPFans read: “The team complies with all local and global regulations at all times and will continue to do so.”
This isn’t the first time the squad has changed things up, with similar advertising restrictions also in effect at the Belgian GP back in July.
It has been a tumultuous week for the team away from the track, having released a statement following the recent death of Jean Pormanove, who became famous via streaming platform Kick – another of their major sponsors.
Sauber will hope to maintain their positive run of form in the Netherlands next weekend having picked up points on each of their previous six outings.
Veteran Hulkenberg has been responsible for the majority of those, having made four top-10 appearances and earning a spot on the podium for the first time in his career at the British GP.
Rookie Bortoleto endured a slow start to life in F1, but the Brazilian has finally found some momentum over the past few months, achieving a career-best finish of sixth in Hungary last time out.
The team currently occupy seventh spot in the constructors’ standings, and are firmly in contention for a surprise top-five berth ahead of next season’s transition to Audi.
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