Force India mull over name change options

Force India have not yet decided on what its new name will be, as the Silverstone based team looks set to rebrand themselves for the 2018 season. To make the company more internationally appealing, owner Vijay Mallya wishes to drop 'India' from the name, and replace it with something more exciting.

Recently, it seemed the team was destined to re-name itself 'Force One', which didn't go down well with some fans. It has now emerged that that name has a competitor, with Mallya also considering the name 'Force Racing'.

"Name changes should be rare, so whatever decision we make, the new name should remain for at least the next ten years," said the former Indian billionaire. "We have discussed the situation internally and proposed to call it Force One. We checked to see if the name was used by anyone, so we immediately filed some registrations.

"But the decision is still pending as there is a new proposal -- Force Racing," Mallya added. "We are negotiating with partners, with sponsors, so we will think it through thoroughly and then decide."

Mallya also had praise for his new recruit, Esteban Ocon, who has starred in his first full season of F1. Mallya is sure he will only get better in time: "Esteban will get better and better as he gets experience," he said. "With the talent that he has, I am very pleased that we signed a multi-year contract with him.

Fergal Walsh