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(Source: Force India/Instagram)
Formula 1 is one of the richest sports in the world but also the toughest sport in the world. Many teams and drivers engage in a high-speed battle to clinch victory. However, not many know that India was once a major part of the sport.
The Force India team, owned by businessman Vijay Mallya Scripted India's name in the iconic Motorsport for a few years. However, after a few years, the team became Bankrupt and was sold to Canadian businessman Lawrence Stroll, who has now renamed the team Aston Martin Aramco F1.
History of the team
The original Team was called Jordan Grand Prix, founded in 1991 by none other than Eddie Jordan. The Team was home to iconic drivers like Ruben Barrichello, Eddie Irvine, Damon Hill, Martin Brundle, and Jean Alesi. 7 Time world champion Michael Schumacher’s Historical Formula 1 career started with Jordan at the Belgium GP of the 1991 season. In 2005, after 250 races, Jordan was sold to Midland Group. The Jordan name was renamed as MF1 Racing. Then in 2006, the team was sold to Dutch car manufacturer Spyker.
The year 2008 marked a historic moment in Indian motorsport. Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and Dutch businessman Michiel Mol bought the Spyker F1 Team for 88 million euros. The Spyker F1 team became Force India, India’s very own Formula 1 Team. The team was based out of Silverstone, UK, but competed under Indian Licence. The team signed Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella as their drivers. 2008 was not a very good season for Force India as both drivers failed to score any points that season.
After 29 races without scoring any points, Force India won their first point at the Spa-Francorchamps in the 2009 Belgian GP. Force India Driver Giancarlo Fisichella finished second in that race. And again in Monza Adrian Sutil finished fourth.
In 2011, Sahara India Pariwar - an Indian company - bought 42.5% of Force India’s Stake. At that time the Company shares were bought for 100 million US Dollars. Then the team was called 'Sahara Force India'.
Force India was often called the "Budget Winners". Financial Aid for the team started to decrease year by year. Even then Force India managed to achieve success. The team's use of strategy and resources is still a benchmark for many small teams competing in Formula 1. They had only a limited budget to spend on their research, car development, Drivers, and Employees. The team finished fourth in the 2016 and 2017 constructors championship with a limited money compared to the other teams
In 2014, Force India paired Nico Hulkenberg, the German driver, with the Mexican Sergio Perez after Paul di Resta's exit in 2013. Both drivers brought success to the team. Sergio Perez achieved the maximum points for Force India.
Checo was the most successful driver for Force India in their time at Formula 1. He gave them 3rd place finish at 2014 Bahrain GP, 2015 Russian GP, 2016 Monaco GP, 2016 European GP, 2018 Azerbaijan GP. Nico Hulkenberg, on the other hand, consistently gave them points by finishing in the top ten.
Force India's downfall
The team owner Vijay Mallya was accused of fraud in 2018 so he couldn't afford to continue running Force India. The team was put into administration by the High Court of London ahead of the Hungarian GP.
The team was looking for aa buyer and found one investor named Lawrence Stroll. The Team was renamed Racing Point Force India. Then in 2019, before the Australian GP, the team name was changed to ‘Racing Point’. Perez won the first race for Racing Point at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix.
In 2021, Aston Martin Returned to F1 and the Racing Point name was changed to Aston martin F1. The team uses Mercedes powerd engines and from 2026 the team will use Honda Powered engines for racing. Recently they signed iconic car designer Adrian Newey and he will be joining them next year.