Formula 1 team
F orce India did not start under the new name in Formula 1 until 2008, but the team already has an eventful one Past behind. In 2005 the team was still called Jordan, a year later Midland, and in 2007 Spyker ran the business. After financial problems, a consortium around the former team director Michiel Mol and the Indian businessman Vijay Mallya took over the racing team and saw to it that the team was renamed.
In addition to Graefelfinger Adrian Sutil, who was already under contract with Spyker , the experienced Giancarlo Fisichella was initially committed. In a pompous presentation ceremony in Bombay, Force India presented the new team and the new car powered by a Ferrari customer engine before the 2008 season. But already at the beginning of the season it quickly became clear that the high expectations could not be kept.
Difficult start for Force India
After the withdrawal of the financially troubled Super Aguri team, Force India found itself mostly at the back of the grid again. The only exception in the 2008 season was the race in Monte Carlo. After a few crashes and safety car phases, Adrian Sutil was suddenly in a safe fourth place on the points just before the end. But ten minutes before the end, the dream broke when the German was shot down by Kimi Räikkönens Ferrari and retired.
It should be the only chance for points in the season. Without a single point, Force India was only last in the constructors' championship. The failure was not blamed on the pilots, however, and the contract extension with Fisichella and Sutil was announced during the season.
With Mercedes comes the upswing to Force India
In 2009 the little Force succeeded India team finally the breakthrough. After a rather mediocre performance at the beginning of the season, Force India showed its potential especially on fast tracks. The partnership with Mercedes in the drive area bore its first fruits at the Belgian GP. In Spa, Giancarlo Fisichella only narrowly missed the big sensation. After the first pole position, he was only just beaten in the race by Kimi Räikkönen.
Adrian Sutil's finest hour followed in Monza, when he too contributed something countable to the points account with fourth place. In addition to Sutil, Tonio Liuzzi was allowed to take the second regular cockpit in the last third of the season after Giancarlo Fisichella switched to Ferrari to replace the injured Felipe Massa.
Sutil just missed the top ten result
Die 2010 season also started promisingly. Adrian Sutil brought Force India invery first free practice in Bahrain a best time. It didn't go all the way up, but Force India was a regular candidate for points. In the second half, the shape curve bent down a little. The competition simply developed faster. In the end, Adrian Sutil missed the long-targeted top ten place. With seventh place in the team standings, Force India celebrated a new record.
The upward trend continued in 2011 with the driver duo Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta. Although they missed the podium again, they were regularly represented in the points. After a mediocre start to the season, Force India secured sixth place in the constructors' cup. At the same time, the racing team got a new co-owner. Subrata Roy secured 42.5 percent of the team shares with his Sahara group.
Sutil and Hülkenberg come and go
For Adrian Sutil, however, the relationship with the racing team ended after six years. Although the Swiss by choice made a significant contribution to the sporting success with good results in the second half of the season, he had to leave the team. Nico Hülkenberg was introduced as a new team mate for 2012. The team leadership shouldn't regret the decision.
Hülkenberg mostly had Di Resta under control in 2012. The big breakthrough did not materialize, however. Regular points were not enough in the battle for fifth place in the team standings against Sauber and Mercedes. In the last race, Hülkenberg could almost have created the big sensation. But in the duel for victory he crashed into Lewis Hamilton and ended up only in fifth place.
For the 2013 season, Force India had to restructure its personnel again. Hulkenberg left Force India after only one season in the regular cockpit for Sauber. But Adrian Sutil returned after a year break. The VJM05 was very competitive at the start of the season. The sensitive Pirelli tires in particular matched the vehicle characteristics. Often, however, small defects or collisions prevented better results.
In the second half of the season the form curve then went down and the 6th place in the team ranking, which was already believed to be safe, was in danger again. In the end, Force India was 20 points ahead of Sauber. For the 2014 season, Vijay Mallya announced a new start. The two regular drivers Sutil and Di Resta had to leave the racing team. But Nico Hülkenberg came back from Sauber. With ex-McLaren driver Sergio Perez there was also a driver who also has a few sponsors in his luggage.
Force India becomes Racing Point
At first it turned out to be more important than the drivers but the new engine from Mercedes. Like Williams and McLaren, customer Force India also benefited from the superior engine. In addition, a good-natured and reliable car had been built that was enough in the first half of the season to regularly fight for podium places.In the end, due to minor mistakes, “only” a trophy jumped out for Perez's third place in Bahrain.
Hülkenberg did not shine with top results, but he convinced with regular points. In the second half of the season, both drivers struggled a lot more. The competition caught up. At Force India, the update stages did not fire as planned. In the end, they fell back to 6th place behind McLaren in the team standings. Nonetheless, the year could be booked as a success.
They actually wanted to attack the top teams in the 2015 season, but after the winter break Force India made a false start. Due to production problems, the car was only ready for the last test in Barcelona. The reduced preparation was reflected in a weak pace at the beginning of the season.
A major technical update was only ready in the middle of the season at Silverstone, with which one actually wanted to start the year. After all, the conversion to the B version had an effect. Force India picked up speed and delivered regular top ten results in the second half of the season. In Russia, Perez even made it onto the podium. Its own point record from the previous season could not be broken, but Force India landed on rank 5 in the team standings - as high as never before.
The upward trend should continue in 2016. Thanks to a strong second half of the season, the small team was able to prevail against Williams and take fourth place. Only the three top teams Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari were better. After the major rule reform, this feat could even be repeated again. Force India distanced itself from its pursuers, many of whom had a much larger budget available.
2018 was a difficult year. Owner Mallya's distress grew, which also had an impact on the team's finances. The owner changed hands in mid-2018. A group around billionaire Lawrence Stroll took command. The championship points that the team had conquered by the summer break were deleted. Nevertheless, it was still enough for seventh place in the Team World Cup. Force India is now called Racing Point.
