Force India facts for kids
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| Full name | Force India Formula One Team (2008–2011) Sahara Force India Formula One Team (2012–2018) |
|---|---|
| Base | Silverstone, United Kingdom |
| Founder(s) | Vijay Mallya & Michiel Mol |
| Noted staff | Steve Curnow Bob Fernley Mike Gascoyne Andrew Green James Key Colin Kolles Subrata Roy Otmar Szafnauer |
| Noted drivers |  Sergio Pérez Esteban Ocon Giancarlo Fisichella Nico Hülkenberg Vitantonio Liuzzi Paul di Resta Adrian Sutil |
| Previous name | Spyker F1 Team |
| Next name | Racing Point Force India |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| First entry | 2008 Australian Grand Prix |
| Races entered | 203 |
| Engines | Ferrari & Mercedes |
| Constructors' Championships |
0 (best finish: 4th, 2016 and 2017) |
| Drivers' Championships |
0 |
| Race victories | 0 (best finish: 2nd, 2009 Belgian Grand Prix) |
| Podiums | 6 |
| Points | 987 |
| Pole positions | 1 |
| Fastest laps | 5 |
| Final entry | 2018 Hungarian Grand Prix |
Force India was a Formula One racing team based in the United Kingdom. It raced under an Indian license. The team was first called Force India, then later Sahara Force India.
The team started in October 2007. An Indian businessman, Vijay Mallya, and a Dutch businessman, Michiel Mol, bought the Spyker F1 team to create it.
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After 29 races without scoring points, Force India finally earned its first points and a podium finish! Giancarlo Fisichella came in second at the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix. In the very next race, the Italian Grand Prix, Adrian Sutil finished fourth and set the team's first fastest lap.
Sergio Pérez achieved five more podiums for the team, all third-place finishes, between 2014 and 2018. These were at the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix, 2015 Russian Grand Prix, 2016 Monaco Grand Prix, 2016 European Grand Prix, and the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
In October 2011, an Indian company called Sahara India Pariwar bought 42.5% of Force India's shares. The team was then renamed Sahara Force India.
In 2018, Vijay Mallya faced financial difficulties and could no longer afford to run Force India. In July 2018, the team announced it had gone into administration. This means a court took control to help manage its money problems.
A group of investors, called Racing Point UK and led by Lawrence Stroll, bought the team's assets. They used these assets to create a new team called Racing Point Force India. The original Force India team, which started in 2008, stopped existing before the 2019 season. The new team then changed its name to "Racing Point".
Contents
- History
- How the Team Started
- 2008 Season: First Steps
- 2009 Season: First Podium!
- 2010 Season: More Points
- 2011 Season: Climbing Higher
- 2012 Season: New Drivers
- 2013 Season: Return of Sutil
- 2014 Season: Another Podium!
- 2015 Season: Financial Challenges and Strong Finish
- 2016 Season: Best Ever Finish!
- 2017 Season: Pink Panthers!
- 2018 Season: The End of an Era
- Sponsorship and Partners
- Racing Record
- Driver Development Programme
- See also
History
How the Team Started
The Force India team's story began with the Jordan Grand Prix team. Jordan started racing in Formula One in 1991 from its base at the Silverstone Circuit. Jordan had some good years, winning four races and finishing third in the 1999 Constructors' Championship.
However, like many smaller teams, Jordan faced money problems in the 2000s. The team owner, Eddie Jordan, sold the team to the Midland Group in 2005.
The Midland team, renamed Midland F1 Racing in 2006, spent two seasons at the back of the grid. Its owner, Alex Shnaider, then sold the team to Spyker Cars in the middle of the 2006 season.
Spyker F1 scored a point in 2007 and even led a race briefly. But the team again ran into financial trouble. It was then sold to Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and Michiel Mol, who was Spyker's Formula One Director.
The team was bought and renamed Force India Formula One Team for the 2008 season. It kept its team principal, Colin Kolles, and drivers, Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella.
2008 Season: First Steps
For its first season, Force India kept Adrian Sutil. After winter tests, Giancarlo Fisichella was chosen as the second race driver, and Vitantonio Liuzzi became the reserve driver. They drove an updated version of the Spyker F8-VIIB car, called the Force India VJM01, with Ferrari engines.
The car was shown off in February in Mumbai, India. The team hoped to do better than Super Aguri, another team at the back of the grid.
Force India's first race was in Melbourne. Both drivers retired early. The next race in Malaysia saw Fisichella finish twelfth, which was the team's first completed race.
At the wet Monaco Grand Prix race, Sutil almost scored the team's first points. But Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari crashed into Sutil's car, forcing him to retire. Force India finished the season tenth in the Constructors' Championship. Fisichella's best finish was tenth at the Spanish Grand Prix Grand Prix.
2009 Season: First Podium!
Force India kept the same drivers for the 2009 season. The VJM02 car used Mercedes-Benz engines. This was part of a five-year deal that also included McLaren-Mercedes gearboxes. The new car was shown on March 1, 2009.
At the wet Chinese Grand Prix Grand Prix, Sutil was close to scoring points. He was in sixth place with six laps left, but his car slid off the track and crashed.
Force India achieved its first ever pole position in Formula One at the Belgian Grand Prix Grand Prix. Fisichella qualified fastest! He then finished the race in second place, less than a second behind Kimi Räikkönen. This was Force India's first points and first podium finish.
On September 3, 2009, Force India let Fisichella leave to race for Ferrari. Four days later, test driver Vitantonio Liuzzi took his place for the rest of the season.
At the Italian Grand Prix Grand Prix, Sutil qualified second and Liuzzi qualified seventh. In the race, Sutil finished fourth and set the fastest lap. Force India finished the season ninth with 13 points, showing huge improvement.
2010 Season: More Points
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The team announced on November 27, 2009, that Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi would stay for the 2010 season. Paul di Resta was confirmed as the team's test driver. The new car, the VJM03, was shown on February 9, 2010.
The 2010 season started with points in Bahrain, with Liuzzi finishing ninth. In Malaysia, Sutil scored ten points by finishing fifth.
At Monaco, both cars finished in the points (eighth and ninth), which was the team's first double points finish. In Montreal, both cars again finished in the points.
Force India finished the season in seventh place with 68 points.
2011 Season: Climbing Higher
On January 26, 2011, the team announced that reserve driver Paul di Resta would become a race driver for the 2011 season, joining Adrian Sutil. The team launched their new car, the VJM04, online on February 8, 2011.
In the first race in Australia, Sutil and di Resta finished eleventh and twelfth. They were later moved up to ninth and tenth after other cars were disqualified.
Di Resta scored more points in Malaysia. Sutil finished seventh in Monaco and ninth in Valencia. Di Resta had his best race result of sixth in Singapore.
At the final race in Brazil, Sutil finished sixth and di Resta finished eighth. This helped the team finish sixth in the Constructors' Championship.
2012 Season: New Drivers
For 2012, the team kept Paul di Resta and replaced Adrian Sutil with their 2011 reserve driver, Nico Hülkenberg. Jules Bianchi was named the team's new reserve driver. The team's car, the VJM05, was launched at Silverstone on February 3.
In the last race of the season, the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Hülkenberg qualified seventh and quickly moved up to lead the race for a while. He finished fifth after an incident with Lewis Hamilton.
Force India finished their 2012 season in seventh place with 109 points.
2013 Season: Return of Sutil
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The 2013 driver lineup featured Paul di Resta for his third year. Adrian Sutil returned to the team, replacing Nico Hülkenberg. The team's new car, the VJM06, was launched on February 1, 2013.
At the first race in Australia, Sutil finished seventh and di Resta finished eighth. This was the team's best start to a season ever. At the fourth race in Bahrain, di Resta finished fourth.
Force India finished their 2013 season in sixth place with 77 points.
2014 Season: Another Podium!
Nico Hülkenberg returned to the team for 2014, and Sergio Pérez joined, replacing Paul di Resta. Daniel Juncadella was signed as a reserve driver.
The season started in Australia with Hülkenberg finishing sixth and Pérez tenth. At the Bahrain Grand Prix, Pérez put Force India on the podium with a third-place finish. This was the team's first podium since 2009.
Force India did well after the big rule changes for hybrid engines. They finished in sixth place with 155 points.
2015 Season: Financial Challenges and Strong Finish
On October 19, 2014, the team confirmed Hülkenberg would stay for 2015. On November 7, 2014, Force India announced that Pérez would also stay with the team.
Force India missed the first pre-season test due to delays in developing their new car, the Force India VJM08. It was later said that the team faced financial difficulties.
However, Force India's 2015 car finally appeared at the third pre-season test. It was an updated version of the previous year's car and was reliable. They had a good start with Hülkenberg finishing seventh in the Australian Grand Prix.
The team introduced a much improved "B-spec" car at the 2015 British Grand Prix. This car was a big step forward. In Belgium, Pérez almost led the race and finished fifth. He then finished sixth in Monza and seventh in Singapore.
At the Russian Grand Prix, Pérez put Force India on the podium again with a third-place finish. This strong performance helped Force India achieve its best placing of 5th in the Constructors' Championship with 136 points. This was a great achievement given the team's financial struggles.
2016 Season: Best Ever Finish!
Force India kept Hülkenberg and Pérez for a third season in 2016. This turned out to be the most successful season for the team so far. They finished fourth in the Constructors' Championship with 173 points.
Pérez scored two podium finishes this season. He finished third at the Monaco Grand Prix Grand Prix, which was the first time the team had a podium finish there. Pérez finished third again two races later at the European Grand Prix Grand Prix in Baku.
At the Belgian Grand Prix Grand Prix, the team had both cars finish in the top five, with Hülkenberg fourth and Pérez fifth. As a result, the team took fourth place in the Constructors' Championship, their highest ever finish.
2017 Season: Pink Panthers!
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In 2017, Hülkenberg left Force India. Esteban Ocon joined to replace him for his first full season in Formula One. Pérez stayed at Force India for his fourth season.
The VJM10 car changed to a striking pink color because of a new sponsorship deal with BWT. This led to the cars being nicknamed 'Pink Panthers' by fans and commentators.
Ocon and Pérez finished the first five races of the season in the points. At the Spanish Grand Prix Grand Prix, Pérez finished fourth and Ocon had a career-best fifth place.
The two drivers had some collisions in later races. At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix Grand Prix, both drivers crashed into each other. They collided again at the Belgian Grand Prix Grand Prix.
The team secured fourth place in the Constructors' Championship for the second year in a row. They scored 187 points, which was the team's best points total ever.
2018 Season: The End of an Era
For the 2018 season, the team kept Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon. At the first race in Australia, they finished eleventh and twelfth.
The team went into administration during the Hungarian Grand Prix. This legal action was started by a group of creditors, including Sergio Pérez, to help the team keep running while a new owner was found.
Before the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix, a group of investors led by Lawrence Stroll bought the team's assets. The original Force India team was then excluded from the championship. A new team, Racing Point Force India F1 Team, was allowed to race, but it could not keep the points from the old team. This marked the end of the Force India constructor that had been founded in 2008.
Sponsorship and Partners
Kingfisher, a brand owned by Vijay Mallya, was the main sponsor. Other early sponsors included ICICI Bank, Medion, and Reebok.
In 2009, new sponsors like AVG and Airbus joined. Computational Research Laboratories (CRL) also partnered with Force India to help design their race cars. Force India also had a technical partnership with McLaren.
In October 2011, the Indian company Sahara India Pariwar bought 42.5% of the team's shares. Vijay Mallya kept 42.5%, and the Mol family had the remaining 15%. Because of this, the team was renamed Sahara Force India.
Later sponsors included Whyte and Mackay, United Breweries Group, Vladivar Vodka, and Smirnoff. Hype Energy Drinks became a sponsor in 2015.
On March 14, 2017, Force India announced a new sponsorship with BWT AG. This deal changed the VJM10 car to its famous pink color. Another new sponsor for 2017 was the whisky brand Johnnie Walker.
Racing Record
| Year | Name | Car | Engine | Tyres | No. | Drivers | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 |  Force India Formula One Team |
VJM01 | Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 | B | 20 21 |
Adrian Sutil Giancarlo Fisichella |
0 | 10th |
| 2009 | Force India Formula One Team |
VJM02 | Mercedes FO 108W 2.4 V8 | B | 20 21 21 |
Adrian Sutil Giancarlo Fisichella Vitantonio Liuzzi |
13 | 9th |
| 2010 | Force India Formula One Team |
VJM03 | Mercedes FO 108X 2.4 V8 | B | 14 15 |
Adrian Sutil Vitantonio Liuzzi |
68 | 7th |
| 2011 | Force India Formula One Team (1–15) Sahara Force India Formula One Team (16–19) |
VJM04 | Mercedes FO 108Y 2.4 V8 | P | 14 15 |
Adrian Sutil Paul di Resta |
69 | 6th |
| 2012 | Sahara Force India F1 Team |
VJM05 | Mercedes FO 108Z 2.4 V8 | P | 11 12 |
Paul di Resta Nico Hülkenberg |
109 | 7th |
| 2013 | Sahara Force India F1 Team |
VJM06 | Mercedes FO 108F 2.4 V8 | P | 14 15 |
Paul di Resta Adrian Sutil |
77 | 6th |
| 2014 | Sahara Force India F1 Team |
VJM07 | Mercedes PU106A Hybrid 1.6 V6t | P | 11 27 |
Sergio Pérez Nico Hülkenberg |
155 | 6th |
| 2015 | Sahara Force India F1 Team |
VJM08 VJM08B |
Mercedes PU106B Hybrid 1.6 V6t | P | 11 27 |
Sergio Pérez Nico Hülkenberg |
136 | 5th |
| 2016 | Sahara Force India F1 Team |
VJM09 | Mercedes PU106C Hybrid 1.6 V6t | P | 11 27 |
Sergio Pérez Nico Hülkenberg |
173 | 4th |
| 2017 | Sahara Force India F1 Team |
VJM10 | Mercedes M08 EQ Power+ 1.6 V6t | P | 11 31 |
Sergio Pérez Esteban Ocon |
187 | 4th |
| 2018 | Sahara Force India F1 Team |
VJM11 | Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ 1.6 V6t | P | 11 31 |
Sergio Pérez Esteban Ocon |
0 | Ex |
Driver Development Programme
Force India helped many young drivers in their careers. They gave them chances to test Formula One cars. Here are some of the drivers they supported:
Former Drivers
| Driver | Years | Current series |
|---|---|---|
| Jehan Daruvala |
2012–2018 | None |
 Steven Goldstein |
2015 | None |
| Alfonso Celis Jr. |
2015–2017 | None |
 Nikita Mazepin |
2016–2018 | None |
 Lucas Auer |
2017 | Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters |
 Nicholas Latifi |
2018 | None |
|
See also
In Spanish: Force India Formula One Team para niños
