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Sponsors pushing for Force India name change

Published on 05 Jan 2018 11:24
13
By: Fergal Walsh

It is believed that sponsors are pushing Force India to change its name, which the Silverstone-based team has been pondering for months. Team owner Vijay Mallya revealed in June of 2017 that he was considering a name change for his team.

He hoped to drop 'India' from its name, with the aim of attracting more sponsors and rid itself of being "psychologically limited". The name 'Force One' was largely considered but was ultimately dropped last November, with team COO Otmar Szafnauer stating it could be too easily shortened down to 'F1'.

Despite the original 2018 entry list reading 'Sahara Force India F1 Team', it is now believed that sponsors are pushing the team to change its name: “Yes, a couple of potential sponsors said that if we don’t change, then we don’t come on board [with you]," said Szafnauer

“I don’t know [why?]. But I think, maybe those sponsors wanted a more global approach to what they are doing, [and] not being tied down to one country. So, they just thought if they are going to sponsor a team, they will sponsor a team which is not really tied to one country.”

When asked whether 'Force' could be dropped from the name, Szafnauer replied: "I am not sure [at this moment]. I hate to yes, then it turns out as no and I hate to say no, then it turns out as yes. We haven’t decided. So, it’s hard to say.”

Fergal Walsh

F1 News Force India

Replies (13)

BENNY DONKER

Posts: 1,976
Why not change it into 'Force International'?
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- Jan 5 2018 - 12:24
- f1fan0101
  
  Posts: 1,804
  Or just 'Force Universe, some aliens might like to be sponsors'
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  Jan 5 2018 - 12:45
Harryw

Posts: 107
I'd scrap both Force and India. Have a new name. Like Super Tidy.
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- Jan 5 2018 - 13:30
- mcbhargav
  
  Posts: 1,332
  yep. That livery perfectly suits the "Super Tidy F1".
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  Jan 5 2018 - 20:15
denis1304

Posts: 284
it could be too easily shortened down to 'F1'.... not bad at all. They could also take old F1 logo LOL
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- Jan 5 2018 - 14:25
mbmwe36

Posts: 533
I don't like the Force India name, especially since their connection to India isn't that strong anyway.
But for the life of me, I can't come up with a better name. Force One sounds like a bootleg F1 game, or something.
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- Jan 5 2018 - 18:11
- xoya
  
  Posts: 583
  I agree completely.
  Mallya isn't as catchy as Williams, Jordan, Ferrari, Lamborghini or other family name based names so maybe they should stick to an acronym. MaVeN or something of the sorts. :)
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  Jan 6 2018 - 11:10
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Force One sounds like a sequel to some Star Wars spin-off.
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  Jan 6 2018 - 11:54
ajpennypacker

Posts: 2,475
They need a name worthy of the amazing team they are. I look forward to their performance in 2018.
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- Jan 6 2018 - 00:57
Kean

Posts: 692
Originally the team was the Jordan team, before being sold to Midland, then Spyker and finally Force India. I wouldn't mind if they revert to calling the team Jordan.
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- Jan 6 2018 - 10:38
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  I wouldnt mind that, only it wouldnt be Jordan. And while I liked their old livery, it'd be hard to tell them and Renault apart on track from a distance.
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  Jan 6 2018 - 11:53
- Kean
  
  Posts: 692
  @Calle, I'd call the team Jordan F1, and if BWT stays on as sponsor I'd go for the blue/magenta/pink livery a la Sean Bull.
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  Jan 6 2018 - 14:47
calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
I like Force India, and its a wellestablished name in F1 now, and people recognize them name, so to me it'd be a bad idea to change the name. I dont really see why having one country's name in your team name would be excluding, but Im but a labrat (or vampire really). If I have to choose, I like the Force bit, but Force One? No. Force Racing could be cool, I suppose. Seeing as how many drinks companies they have partnerships with, they could name themselves Force Spirit. Ideally, they'd get a deal with a car brand and get the rights to their name. Since they use Mercedes units, it could be a Daimler brand like Maybach? Would've loved it if Aston Martin had signed with them. The team's structure clearly is sound, they've in a pretty short time managed to get very consistent on a pretty moderate budget, so I could see them becoming a works team, given some time.
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- Jan 6 2018 - 12:02