Racing Point launches its maiden F1 car

Racing Point has launched its first ever Formula 1 car, which will compete in the 2019 F1 season. The car was launched at the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto.

The team also confirmed that the online betting company SportPesa will be its new title sponsor for the upcoming season.

The team has retained its pink livery that it has used since 2017, but has added more blue in the wake of the SportPesa deal. It has also taken on sponsorship from JCB, who move with Lance Stroll from Williams to Racing Point.

The Silverstone outfit was previously known as Force India, however it slipped into administration prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2018. During the summer break, a consortium of investors, led by Candian businessman Lawrence Stroll, took control of the team and rebranded it to Racing Point Force India.

The team affirmed over the winter break that 'Racing Point' was just a placeholder name, however it failed to successfully file and submit a different identity to the FIA for the 2019 season.  

"We've all come to the conclusion to that basically we're a team of racers and there's nothing wrong with Racing Point and it encompasses who we are.

"We thought it was an appropriate name, let's make it wonderful and let's take that name and give it some history and time and some heritage. Racing Point is what we got to. I think it's appropriate and thanks to our new title partner SportPesa they are part of the name too."

Lawrence Stroll's son Lance, who spent the last two seasons at Williams, will race for the outfit alongside Sergio Perez, who joined the previously-called Force India team in 2014.