No rush to change Force India's name

It is already well-known that Force India is considering a number of possible new names to adopt as early as next season, but although this process seems to be in full swing, the team's owner Vijay Mallya says there is no rush to make a change.

"There is no specific timeline," he explained. "Is it going to be done this year for next year? I can't answer that question because we are under no pressure to take an early decision. When the right name comes with our partnership engagements, then of course we will go ahead."

Mallya went on to speak in more detail about how the decision to initiate a name change came about; it was already known that Force India was keen to be seen as a team with a greater international flavour. "It was a discussion with certain sponsors, who expressed some reservations on Force India being too geographically or territorially specific. There are international sponsors who are onboard and wish to come onboard, who have no business in India.

"I think the time has come that we need to also present them with a global opportunity on a global platform, so after living with Force India, the time has come now to change. We can't keep changing the name of the team, so the decision we take has to last for at least another 10 years. So we are thinking about it."

Mason Hawker