Following the sale of Spyker F1 (again), the new owners have announced the team's new name: Force India. Indian investor Vijay Mallya got together with former Spyker Cars CEO Michiel Mol to buy the team from the financially-troubled niche sportscar manufacturer, which it now seems had no business in F1 to begin with. Spyker itself had acquired the team from Midland, who in turn had purchased it from Jordan, changing the name and image with each new owner.
Mallya aims to use his new team to raise India's image abroad in an apparent confusion between Formula One and the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, which is made up of national teams. The team's logo is anticipated to include the Indian flag, and will probably look like the one on Mallya's hat (at right).
[Source: Formula One]
It has been speculated that Mallya would employ two Indian drivers. Former Jordan race driver and current Williams tester Narain Karthikeyan, who has also raced for Team India in A1, could well come back to the race seat under the new team. GP2 race winner Karun Chandok, however, wisely announced earlier that he intends to stay another season in the feeder series. The team, under a different name, could very well be in someone else's hands by next year when Chandok is ready to take the leap. Ralf Schumacher, meanwhile, is said to have good relations with Mallya, but both parties played down the prospect of the German driver hitching up with the new team.
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