Sponsors pushing for Force India name change
- Published on 05 Jan 2018 11:24
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- By: Fergal Walsh
It is believed that sponsors are pushing Force India to change its name, which the Silverstone-based team has been pondering for months. Team owner Vijay Mallya revealed in June of 2017 that he was considering a name change for his team.
He hoped to drop 'India' from its name, with the aim of attracting more sponsors and rid itself of being "psychologically limited". The name 'Force One' was largely considered but was ultimately dropped last November, with team COO Otmar Szafnauer stating it could be too easily shortened down to 'F1'.
Despite the original 2018 entry list reading 'Sahara Force India F1 Team', it is now believed that sponsors are pushing the team to change its name: “Yes, a couple of potential sponsors said that if we don’t change, then we don’t come on board [with you]," said Szafnauer
“I don’t know [why?]. But I think, maybe those sponsors wanted a more global approach to what they are doing, [and] not being tied down to one country. So, they just thought if they are going to sponsor a team, they will sponsor a team which is not really tied to one country.”
When asked whether 'Force' could be dropped from the name, Szafnauer replied: "I am not sure [at this moment]. I hate to yes, then it turns out as no and I hate to say no, then it turns out as yes. We haven’t decided. So, it’s hard to say.”
Fergal Walsh
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Replies (13)
Login to replyBENNY DONKER
Posts: 1,976
Why not change it into 'Force International'?
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
Or just 'Force Universe, some aliens might like to be sponsors'
Harryw
Posts: 107
I'd scrap both Force and India. Have a new name. Like Super Tidy.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
yep. That livery perfectly suits the "Super Tidy F1".
denis1304
Posts: 284
it could be too easily shortened down to 'F1'.... not bad at all. They could also take old F1 logo LOL
mbmwe36
Posts: 533
I don't like the Force India name, especially since their connection to India isn't that strong anyway.
But for the life of me, I can't come up with a better name. Force One sounds like a bootleg F1 game, or something.
xoya
Posts: 583
I agree completely.
Mallya isn't as catchy as Williams, Jordan, Ferrari, Lamborghini or other family name based names so maybe they should stick to an acronym. MaVeN or something of the sorts. :)
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Force One sounds like a sequel to some Star Wars spin-off.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
They need a name worthy of the amazing team they are. I look forward to their performance in 2018.
Kean
Posts: 692
Originally the team was the Jordan team, before being sold to Midland, then Spyker and finally Force India. I wouldn't mind if they revert to calling the team Jordan.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I wouldnt mind that, only it wouldnt be Jordan. And while I liked their old livery, it'd be hard to tell them and Renault apart on track from a distance.
Kean
Posts: 692
@Calle, I'd call the team Jordan F1, and if BWT stays on as sponsor I'd go for the blue/magenta/pink livery a la Sean Bull.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I like Force India, and its a wellestablished name in F1 now, and people recognize them name, so to me it'd be a bad idea to change the name. I dont really see why having one country's name in your team name would be excluding, but Im but a labrat (or vampire really). If I have to choose, I like the Force bit, but Force One? No. Force Racing could be cool, I suppose. Seeing as how many drinks companies they have partnerships with, they could name themselves Force Spirit. Ideally, they'd get a deal with a car brand and get the rights to their name. Since they use Mercedes units, it could be a Daimler brand like Maybach? Would've loved it if Aston Martin had signed with them. The team's structure clearly is sound, they've in a pretty short time managed to get very consistent on a pretty moderate budget, so I could see them becoming a works team, given some time.