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Force India

Force India F1 is a Formula One motor racing team. The team was formed in October 2007, when a consortium led by Vijay Mallya and Michiel Mol bought the Spyker F1 team for € 88 million.

Force India F1 represents increased Indian participation within Formula One, with Delhi set to host the first ever Indian Grand Prix in 2010. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile confirmed the change in name from Spyker to Force India on 24th October 2007.

Background

Although created in 2007, the team's roots can be traced back to 1991, when it was founded as Jordan Grand Prix. The Silverstone-based squad and facilities were bought by the Midland group in 2005 and re-named Midland F1 in 2006, before being sold to Spyker Cars towards the end of the 2006 season. However, the running costs of a small Formula One team once again caused the sale of the team this time to the Orange India Holdings group, with Dr. Vijay Mallya and Michiel Mol taking over the ownership of the team.

The Buyout of Spyker F1

Rumours about the possible sale of the team had been abundant in the paddock throughout the last few months of the 2007 season, after Spyker announced their intention to sell 50% of the team, less than a year after Spyker bought it from Midland. The cost of the team was € 88 million, several million more than Spyker paid for the team initially.

2008 and onwards

Colin Kolles will remain as team principal into 2008. Michiel Mol is director of F1 racing, and Mike Gascoyne is the Chief Technology Officer.

Force India will use the VJM-01 chassis, an updated version of the previous year's Spyker car, for the first part of the season. The team will be using customer Ferrari engines in 2008, with the team's existing deal with Ferrari running to 2010. The team will also be using the Indian flag in its team logo from 2008. Former Spyker sponsor Etihad Airways have a contract with the team until 2009, and have yet to announce any changes to this arrangement. Force India will construct their own cars as Spyker did, rather than using customer chassis. Force India has a contract with Adrian Sutil for 2008. In November 2007 the team invited Vitantonio Liuzzi, Christian Klien, Giancarlo Fisichella, Ralf Schumacher, Franck Montagny and former Spyker test drivers Giedo van der Garde and Roldan Rodriguez to take part in winter tests along with Sutil. Giancarlo Fisichella was reported to have taken the second seat at Force India after being replaced at Renault F1 by Fernando Alonso. . On January 10, 2008, Force India confirmed Giancarlo Fisichella as first driver and Vitantonio Liuzzi as a test driver. Adrian Sutil had already been confirmed and took the second driver Role. Former Spyker test drivers Roldan Rodriguez and Giedo van der Garde have been confirmed as test drivers for Force India F1.

Force India were competitive at the start of the season until Super Aguri withdrew. After that they became the slowest team on the grid and have underperformed all season. At Monaco Force India nearly scored their first points. Adrian Sutil had moved up to 4th until Kimi Räikkönen rear-ended him 10 minutes before the end of the race, forcing him to retire. More points were lost in Singapore because the safety car period that ensued after Sutil's accident ruined Fisichella's strategy. He had run as high as 3rd earlier in the race.

VJM-01

Main article: Force India VJM-01

The VJM-01 was launched with a white, gold and tungsten colored livery at the Gateway of India, in Mumbai, India, on February 7th 2008. The car was named after Force India F1's owners Dr. Vijay Mallya, Jan Mol and Michel Mol. The car has been fitted with new aerodynamic updates after almost every race.

Sponsorship

Kingfisher, a brand owned by Vijay Mallya, is the primary sponsor. Other sponsors for 2008 include ICICI Bank, Medion, Kanyan Capital and Reliance Industries limited .

Kingfisher also sponsors FMS international,which is their driver Giancarlo Fisichella GP2 team.

Partners

Force India F1 has tied up with Airbus and EADS for technological support.

Complete Formula One results

(F1 driver results legend 2) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Chassis	Engine	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Points	WCC
2008	Force India VJM01	Ferrari V8		AUS	MAL	BHR	ESP	TUR	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	EUR	BEL	ITA	SIN	JPN	CHN	BRA	0*	10th*
			Adrian Sutil	Ret	Ret	19	Ret	16	Ret	Ret	19	Ret	16	Ret	Ret	13	19	Ret
			Giancarlo Fisichella	Ret	12	12	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	18	Ret	14	15	14	17	Ret	14