Winds of change are coming to Formula 1; on February 25th, Force India will no longer exist. On their car presentation day, they are expected to also announce their new name. Vijay Mallya keeps the promise of getting rid of ‘India’ and the team will simply be named Force.
Force India is about to make an important step on its short but remarkable history in Formula 1 with a name change that will be made public the 25th of February in Barcelona, the same day when they will present their car for the 2018 season, the VJM11. The team will also unveil its new logo. This will mark the end of the name ‘Force India’ and the first name change of the team since 2008, when it became Force India after being Spyker in 2007, Midland in 2006 and Jordan between 1991 and 2005.
Otmar Szafnauer recently said that their intention for several years had been to change the name: “We always said that we would change the name of the team. We still have this idea. The name will change and the plan is to announce it during the presentation of the new car.” Before that, of course, the team must obtain permission and approval from the Formula 1 Comission, but we expect this to be a mere formality.”
The new name of the team is today still a secret, but on the Commercial Register of the United Kingdom there is already a name related to Bob Fernley, Force Formula One Ltd., which seems to be the most likely choice. For a long time, Force India has planned to change its name due to the fact that including a country on it could limit the arrival of new sponsors.