Sauber’s new title sponsor, Stake, a company registered on the island of Curacao, will have to pay around $50 million under the contract with the team, according to experts, but it appears the costs will be noticeably higher.
We talked about Stake F1 having problems in Switzerland, but now some new details have emerged. Online casinos as a type of business are considered illegal in many countries, but in Switzerland only companies registered in this country are allowed to operate them. However, the official name of the team from Hinvil now contains the name of a company that does not have such a license – therefore any advertising for it is also prohibited and the team is already giving rise to legal claims.
According to Swiss radio station SRF, since the Federal Casino Commission filed a lawsuit against Sauber Motorsport, the company risks a fine of up to 500 thousand francs – at the current exchange rate this is more than 532 thousand euros.
However, the reaction from Alessandro Alunni Bravi, the team spokesperson, was calm for the time being.
“We always follow all applicable laws, including those adopted in Switzerland,” SRF quotes him (btw: Alunni Bravi is an experienced lawyer). “We will of course take all measures to comply with these laws.”
Apparently the team is already taking these measures and on the Sauber Group’s official website the Stake brand has already been removed from the list of sponsors and partners.
Bravi also warned fans against too high expectations for the coming season: “This time we prefer not to talk about specific goals that the team stands for. But our aim is to improve in all areas – this includes track work, pit stops and race tactics.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
