F1 team forced to change their name for the Dutch GP

20:16, 20 Aug
Updated: 20:53, 20 Aug
15 Comments

The Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber will not participate in the Dutch Grand Prix under its current name. The Swiss team is forced to implement a temporary name change for the race. This is due to strict gambling laws in the Netherlands.

The team in Zandvoort is called Kick Sauber. Stake, the Swiss team's title sponsor, will therefore not be on the entry list for the event at Circuit Zandvoort, GPblog can confirm. Normally, the name of this betting company is included in the team name, the sponsor is prominently displayed on the side of the car, and it has a prominent place on the overalls of drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto. But in the Netherlands, this will not be the case.

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At the GP of Spain, Stake was not visible on the overalls of Sauber drivers Hulkenberg and Bortoleto

The Netherlands has strict laws regarding gambling advertisements 

This temporary change is related to the strict regulations regarding advertising for gambling companies. Stake is a gambling site, and advertising for it is prohibited in the Netherlands. The laws have become more stringent since 1 January of this year, and it is no longer permitted to display the name of a gambling company during sporting events.

Incidentally, this isn't limited to the Netherlands. Strict regulations also apply to these commercials in Belgium, for example. Therefore, Zandvoort isn't a first, as the Swiss team also competed earlier this year under a different name.