Force India F1 Team

The Force India F1 team is the first Indian sponsored team to participate in Formula One racing and is a product of the increasing popularity of Formula One racing in the East. The team is the most recent owner of the facilities that previously belonged to the British Jordan team.

Headquarters: Silverstone, England
Engine: Mercedes-Benz FO 108x
Chassis: Force India VJM03
F1 Debut: 2008 Australian Grand Prix
Drivers: Adrian Sutil, Vitantonio Liuzzi

While the team logo bears an Indian flag, Force India makes use of a predominantly European racing team. However, team ownership is Indian as the team is the brainchild of Dr Vijay Mallya of the Orange India Holdings Group. It is sponsored by Mallya’s Kingfisher Beer brand.

Although yet to find its feet in Formula One racing, Force India is investing heavily in design, with design modifications introduced for each new Formula One Grand Prix.

History

Force India is the latest team to take ownership of the intellectual property rights and infrastructure that previously belonged to the British Jordan team. The Jordan team participated in Formula One racing between 1991 and 2005, and achieved promising results in the late 1990s, before starting a steep decline during the early years of the new millennium.

Difficulty in securing sponsors, along with the withdrawal of engine provider Cotsworth from Formula One racing, led to the demise of Jordan early in the 2005 season. The team was subsequently purchased by the Midlands Company, who maintained the team name and colours for that season, before re-branding the team as Midlands Racing for the 2006 season.

The Midlands racing team lasted only a single season before being bought out by Spyker Cars. The Spyker team, in turn, lasted less than a season before spiralling costs forced them to put the team up for sale, leading to its purchase by the Orange India Holdings Group.

Force India in Formula One

Force India is in a developmental stage, with the focus on investing in substantial improvements to car design and handling. Force India cars are presently equipped with Ferrari V8 engines in a deal which is expected to run until 2010, whilst making use of custom-built Force India chassis.

Emphasis on experimentation and design modification has led to a situation where Force One cars currently complete less than half of the Grand Prix they participate in. The team has yet to record the fastest lap at a Grand Prix or achieve a podium finish. At the conclusion of a generally unsuccessful debut season in 2008, Force India ditched the Ferrari engine and signed a suppliers deal with Mercedes Benz for the 2009 Formula One season.

Formula One Rankings
Position Driver Pts
1Sebastian Vettel
(Red Bull-Renault)		392
2Jenson Button
(McLaren-Mercedes)		270
3Mark Webber
(Red Bull-Renault)		258
4Fernando Alonso
(Ferrari)		257
5Lewis Hamilton
(McLaren-Mercedes)		227
6Felipe Massa
(Ferrari)		118
7Nico Rosberg
(Mercedes GP)		89
8Michael Schumacher
(Mercedes GP)		76
9Adrian Sutil
(Force India-Mercedes)		42
10Vitaly Petrov
(Renault)		37
11Nick Heidfeld
(Renault)		34
12Kamui Kobayashi
(Sauber)		30
13Paul Di Resta
(Force India-Mercedes)		27
14Jaime Alguersuari
(Toro Rosso-Ferrari)		26
15Sebastien Buemi
(Toro Rosso-Ferrari)		15
16Sergio Perez
(Sauber)		14
17Rubens Barrichello
(Williams-Cosworth)		4
18Bruno Senna
(Renault)		2
19Pastor Maldonado
(Williams-Cosworth)		1
20Pedro de la Rosa
(Sauber)		0
21Jarno Trulli
(Lotus-Renault)		0
22Heikki Kovalainen
(Lotus-Renault)		0
23Vitantonio Liuzzi
(HRT-Cosworth)		0
24Jerome d'Ambrosio
(Virgin-Cosworth)		0
25Timo Glock
(Virgin-Cosworth)		0
26Daniel Ricciardo
(HRT-Cosworth)		0
27Narain Karthikeyan
(HRT-Cosworth)		0
28Karun Chandhok
(Lotus-Renault)		0
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