Force India

Interesting facts

In October 2007, Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and Dutch businessman Michiel Mol bought the Spyker F1 team for €88 million and renamed it Force India - a name reflecting India's role as the licensing nation, even though the team was always based in Silverstone, England. The team struggled badly at first, going 29 races without scoring a point until Giancarlo Fisichella finished second at the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix, earning the team's first podium and points; that same year, Adrian Sutil set the fastest lap at the Italian Grand Prix. In October 2011, the Sahara India Pariwar conglomerate bought a 42.5% stake in the team for $100 million, and the outfit was renamed Sahara Force India for a period. Notable drivers included Sergio Perez (2014-2018, with five podiums), Nico Hulkenberg (2012-2013 and 2014-2016), and Esteban Ocon (2017-2018). Force India's career peak came in 2016 and 2017, when it finished fourth in the constructors' championship both seasons, scoring 173 and 187 points respectively; from 2017, BWT sponsorship gave the cars a striking pink livery, nicknamed the 'Pink Panther' by fans. By the summer of 2018, Mallya could no longer finance the team amid fraud accusations and loan defaults, so the British High Court placed Force India into administration ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix - with Sergio Perez himself among the creditors who pushed for the move. Lawrence Stroll's consortium bought the team's assets and continued racing as Racing Point Force India, bringing the original constructor's story to a close before the 2019 season. Force India's Formula 1 history ran from 2008 to 2018, 11 seasons in total as an Indian team. The team scored a total of 1098 constructors' championship points. The team's best season was 2016, when it finished 4th in the Constructors' Championship with 173 points.