'Hawk Tuah' girl Hailey Welch signs a deal with Sauber F1's title sponsor
The viral sensation Hailey Welch, known as the 'Hawk Tuah' girl, has signed a deal with Sauber F1's title sponsor Kick. Welch has become an internet sensation since she went viral for her comments on the vox pop YouTube channel, Tim & Dee TV, on June 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Her comments were picked on other social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok and shared across the globe as a meme. Although she was first hesitant about her newfound fame, ever since August, she has warmed up to the idea of gaming and even launched a podcast named 'Talk Tuah'.
On October 2, she took her social media platform, X, to announce a deal with video streaming platform Kick, which is also the title sponsor of the F1 team Sauber. In her post, Hailey Welch revealed that he would be doing a meet and greet with her fans at the Dreamhack event in Atlanta on October 5. She wrote:
"Come kick it y'all"
Kick entered F1 last year as a sponsor for the Alfa Romeo F1 team, which was the title sponsor of the Sauber F1 team since 2019. The service took center stage this year when it took Alfa Romeo's place as the title sponsor, and Stake shared the title sponsorship of Sauber.
They might remain as the title sponsor of the Sauber F1 next year as well, given the entire team would be taken over by German giant Audi in 2026.
Red Bull advisor shares his take on Sauber's second driver rumors
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko stated that it would be 'incomprehensible' if the Kick Sauber retained Valtteri Bottas in place of Mick Schumacher.
Marko told Sport.de:
“I think Audi’s car will definitely not be a winning car next year. That means there will be no pressure on Audi or its drivers. It would be a good comparison with Nico Hulkenberg. If the performance is not right, you can always replace him for 2026. If the situation is really that Valtteri Bottas gets the chance, then the whole thing is even more incomprehensible to me."
"I think the Formula 1 story is really over for Schumacher if he doesn’t get that Audi seat. Then he had to concentrate on the long-distance races in the WEC, where he was already very successful. If he wants to stay in motorsport, he has to find something that he likes, but where he also has a chance to win.” he said.
The Sauber team was gunning hard for Carlos Sainz earlier in the season, but they eventually lost him to Williams F1 for next year after already signing Nico Hulkenberg. The Hinwil-based outfit is the only team that has failed to score a point in 18 races and three Sprints thus far.