India’s liquor and airline billionaire Vijay Mallya is now a serious player in Formula 1. In October 2007 Mallya and Michiel Mol bought the Spyker F1 team and renamed it Force India. The team will make its debut at the Australian Grand Prix on March 16. From sportinglife.com:
Vijay Mallya is no miracle worker, but it is fair to say he has transformed the fortunes of a once ailing grand prix team. Despite the fact Force India have yet to compete in a Formula One grand prix, Mallya has overseen a remarkable transitional period during the last six months. The Indian billionaire has pumped his vast wealth into reviving a marque that in its previous guise as Spyker was virtually on its knees financially.
The team has endured a rough ride during the past couple of years since Eddie Jordan decided he had had enough of bankrolling his own outfit, and enough of the politics that occasionally sees the sport itself play second fiddle. First there followed Midland, then Spyker, and now in has come Mallya like a knight in shining armour, proudly introducing India to the most lucrative sport in the world.
More at Force India’s official website forceindiaf1.com:
Force India team driver Giancarlo Fisichella is relishing the challenge
Q: You are taking on a new challenge with Force India. What are your thoughts on this season?
Giancarlo Fisichella: It’s a fantastic project, and they have nearly double the budget of last year. The wind tunnel is running 24 hours a day and they are already looking at 2009. There is Mike Gascoyne, there is Mark Smith, people with a lot of experience who are very focused on this job. So I believe in this project. I think it’s going to be difficult at the beginning of the season, and maybe again we’re going to be in the last couple of rows. But we can make a big step forward from now until the end of the season, and especially for 2009. So far we’ve done a few tests and we’ve already made a step. The car balance was better and the set-up much better. The car has good potential. It’s very promising.
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Well, Mallya does deserve the praise that you bestow on him here but as for Fisichella, I don’t have much hopes frm him, I think Sutil will be the better of the two drivers in the team
At the car Show is unveiled new Megans and Clios, both badged as Formula 1, and in the yellow used by the team. The Renault Clio F1 Team R27 is aimed at those that want performance, fashion and driving pleasure, the company said. Released in the first half of 2008, it comes with a two litre, 200bhp engine. The Megan F1 Team R26 is a two litre, 230bhp turbo, starting from around Dhs85,000. Both will sport an F1 plaque on their body.