Unofficial Indian Grand Prix Site

Adrian Sutil (car 20, VJM02/03):
FP1: 15th 1:37.241  (18 laps)
FP2: 16th 1:36.875  (36 laps)

Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21, VJM02/01):
FP1: 12th    1:37.025  (20 laps)
FP2: 19th 1:37.432  (27 laps)

3 April 2009 – The Force India Formula One Team today completed the opening day of practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit some 60km from the country’s capital, Kuala Lumpur. Under increasingly cloudy skies, Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil recorded times just over a second from the fastest lap of the day, with Giancarlo 12th and 19th in the morning and afternoon sessions respectively, and Adrian 15th and 16th. 

The team completed short runs on the harder tyre in the morning, but concentrated the majority of its programme on the afternoon session, with its high ambient temperatures and later time slot being more representative of the expected conditions for Sunday’s race, which will start at 17:00hrs this year. Both drivers compared the soft and hard tyre compounds available this weekend over both long and short runs, fine-tuned the set-up and reacclimatised to the tough physical pressures associated with the heat and humidity of this event.

The only blip in the programme was an accident for Giancarlo in the second practice. The Italian put a wheel on the grass at turn 11 20 minutes from the end of the session and went into the gravel trap and into the barriers. His VJM02 sustained suspension damage in the impact but will be repaired overnight in time for tomorrow’s final practice session and qualifying.

Adrian Sutil (car 20)

‘It was a good day today overall. We got through all our work and had no problems with the car. We have some work to do with the set up, it’s still a bit understeery in the high speed corners and we can still make some improvements in this respect. The soft tyres seem to work quite well, but the hard tyre at the moment is really hard and never seems to come in. Overall it was a pretty productive day to set us up well for the weekend.’

Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21)

‘We are still finding the best compromise under braking as there is front locking and poor grip and traction so we have to work a lot to make the balance work for us. Over the longer runs it doesn’t look too bad however. It’s a shame about the accident in the afternoon – I just went a little bit wide as there was some graining on the tyres and I lost control of the car. It was just unlucky to go onto the gravel and into the barriers.’

Racing isnt just formula one you know, The A1GP or the worldcup of motorsport is also a world famous racing series with Team India as one of the participants. The cars in A1GP are all the same, so its up to the drivers and the team to tweak the cars and get the best performance. The drivers are forced to push the cars to their limit without actually incurring the wrath of their respective insurance companies for totaling their cars.

The formula one Indian Grand Prix may very well have a rival in the A1GP’s Indian Grand Prix, there were rumours of a track being selected near Rajasthan. Anyway some A1GP Team India statistics with a pretty photo of Team India wonderboy Narain Karthikeyan and his tricolour helmet :

A1 Team India Statistics

A1GP standings
2005/06 24th
2006/07 16th
2007/08 10th
2008/09 15th

Drivers Caps
Karun Chandhok – 3
Armaan Ebrahim  – 22
Narain Karthikeyan – 36
Parthiva Sureshwaren – 4

A1GP statistics
Races started 65
Wins 2
Points 82
Pole positions 1
Podium places 2
Top 10s 22
Raced laps 1537
Raced km 6259
Races led 4
Led laps 36
Led km 142

The A1GP team India has had limited success in the various seasons but with 2 wins and 82 points in total its definitely a team to watch out for in the A1GP format of racing.

Martin Whitmarsh (GBR) McLaren Chief Executive Officer and Dr. Vijay Mallya (IND) Force India F1 Team Owner announce a technical partnership to supply Force India F1 with Mercedes-Benz engines and EADS.

Force India is all set to reveal their 2009 challenger the Vijay Mallya (VJM) 02 on Sunday 1st of March 2009. Its definitely one of the last teams to do so, doing it before only the Italy based Scuderia Torro Rosso team. The new car is powered by a Mercedes engine. Our readers will remember our news item about Force India switching partners from Ferrari to Mercedes for the supply of engines. The new car will be tested from Sunday on the Jerez de la Frontera formula one testing track.

Force India will be able to do 6 days of testing. Team owner Vijay Mallya seemed confident about his F1 outfit’s chances. He was quoted as saying :

“We will have six-day test, which I think is enough”Dr Vijay Mallya had said

“I think we would be ready for the first race & I’m confident we can be in the midfield.”

It is also believed that the VJM02 will be featuring the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) developed by the McLaren team. Both Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella will be there and will get a taste of the new car as its tested on a large number of parameters by the Silverstone based outfit.

It may be remembered that the team no longer has Mike Gascoyne and Collin Kollees and Vijay Mallya is now the top supremo calling the shots.

Lets hope the VJM02 gets the Force India team a few points in the 2009 formula one season.

Well good news and bad news.

The good news is that it really doesn’t look like Force India F1 team is in a financial crunch, i mean signing new brand ambassadors (Deepika Padhukone) , inviting actresses to launch parties etc.

The bad news is that the Indian F1 fan is again ignored. Instead of sponsoring an Indian fan to a F1 race, it seems that Force India F1 only cares about glamour. They have launched a show called Speed Divas with MTV which will hunt for 4 girls who will accompany the Force India F1 team globally.

The winner also gets to act in a motion picture (woohoo ?)

Honda Formula One Team was recently forced to close its F1 division due to a financial crunch

Formula One and the world is facing the toughest ever phase in its glorious history. This recession has had many a victim including top auto firms who have resorted to asking their respective governments for bailout packages. Honda was forced to shut down its formula one division, a decision which they painfully had to take on an earlier occasion too when the going had gotten tough.

Bernie Ecclestone has made it clear that formula one teams who are expecting to be paid more should lower their expectations and would infact be paid comparatively lesser.

Taking a potshot at the corporate culture in the formula one team, Bernie Ecclestone said that earlier on negotiations used to be easy and crisp and you only had to talk to the man with the money and hence the control. But these days teams come with lawyers and ‘masseurs’ and cant seem to agree on anything.

This year F1 teams are also vying for the share of the pie that Honda F1 has left in F1. Most F1 teams are going through a rough patch primarily due to the shortage of sponsors. As big corporate houses face a credit and liquidity crunch, their expenditure on advertising also decreases. And the first to go is usually the outrageous expenses on formula one teams.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has reiterated his commitment to India for holding the 2011  formula one Indian Grand Prix. He was asked in an interview if the 2011 Indian Grand Prix was still going ahead.

Responding to the question coolly, Bernie said that ofcourse the plan was on and that is the reason why an agreement had been inked with the organisers of the Indian Grand Prix. The question was asked amid conflicting reports on the current status of the Indian Grand Prix.

The formula one Indian Grand Prix was first scheduled to be held in 2010. It was then postponed to 2011 . Bernie attributed the delay to prior contracts but the popular press opinion had been that it was due to the laziness of the Indian Grand Prix organisers.

Further justifying the formula one Indian Grand Prix , Bernie Ecclestone had the following to say :

“It’s a large, large country with a big population and it’s good for the sponsors, good for the car manufacturers and its good for everyone involved in Formula One to be in their country,” 

“I doubt in India anything will be a rival to cricket, but let’s see.”

Bernie Ecclestone said.

India just got another place to be noticed on the formula one track. After Narain Karthikeyan’s run in Jordan, Tata promoting Williams F1, Mallya buying Force India formula one team, Tata TCS will be now seen on the Ferrari formula one team’s chasis.

”For the first time an Indian brand will appear on the Ferrari,” president Luca di Montezemolo said

Another Ferrari representative was quoted as saying that the deal was historic. This is a great shot in the arm for Formula One which was in dire straits after the announcement by Honda Formula One team. Most people were anticipating sponsor pullouts and further team pullouts. So an announcement by TCS that it shall sponsor the Ferrari formula one team comes as a breath of fresh air and would also bring global recognition to the Indian software major.

The TCS logo will share space with other brands such as Alice, Shell, AMD, Magnetti and Acer. TCS has been providing software solutions to Ferrari from 2007.

“Building on our existing long-term relationship of over three years, Tata Consultancy Services has entered into an historic agreement with Ferrari for an enhanced technology and marketing partnership,”

“As part of the deal, the Tata logo will be displayed on Ferrari FI car for the 2009 Formula One season,” TCS said in a statement.

It may also be of interest to some of the readers, that Tata Motors and FIAT market cars jointly and FIAT gets its cars serviced via Tata Motors.

Later statement by Ferrari formula one team :

Maranello, 19th December 2008 – Ferrari is pleased to announce the extension of its collaboration with Tata Consultancy Services.
TCS, a world leader in the field of Information Technology consultancy, has been a partner of the Maranello Company since 2004, in the capacity of Official Supplier.
This new agreement means that the TATA logo will be present on the Ferrari Formula 1 cars for the next three years.

Vijay Mallya dismissed Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok saying that they werent F1 material. But a lot of support has come in for them from different quarters.

Reacting sharply to Vijay Mallya’s criticism for the 2 drivers,  a lot for people came out in support of both Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandok

First to show his support was Bernie Ecclestone who also sees the commercial side of things in India. While the world battles an economic crisis, India is one of the countries which has put up a braver face. His support came for Karun Chandhok , he said Karun’s place is in formula one :

“The time is getting closer for F1 to be in India, which is something I am really enthusiastic about, and hopefully Karun Chandhok will be an important part of it.  His place is in F1” Bernie Ecclestone said

Tiago Monteiro came in support of his former teammate Narain Karthikeyan, he went on to say that Narain Karthikeyan can even win grand prix given the right car

“F1 is all about the car you are given. Give Narain a race-winning car and he will win races I can guarantee you” Tiago Monteiro said

And now come the people gunning for Mallya :

James Roberts said :

“Narain was abnormally brave in his ability to stay committed in high-speed corners in that Jordan car. Over one lap he may actually be even quicker than Giancarlo Fisichella . Karun is a great talent. I am surprised at what Mallya has said.”

Peter Windsor (according to an Indian newspaper said)

“It’s amusing when people who have made a lot of money come to F1 and make such ridiculous statements. It makes one wonder how they ever made that money! There is absolutely no question that Karun Chandhok has the ability to do well. He is at least as good as Adrian Sutil “

It appears that Mallya might have made the wrong comments at the wrong time !

Probably this news is something which got lost in all the hodge podge on the Internet. As you may be aware, Mika Hakkinen was in India pretty recently. He had come as part of driving responsibly campaign by Johhny Walker. When asked about the Indian Grand Prix , he replied :

“I believe that a Grand Prix should be held in India as I understand that the interest in the sport is growing massively among the Indian population and it would be great for the fans to have a home Grand Prix”

He also ruled a return to formula one, when asked about it, Mika Hakkinen replied :

“I won’t be making a comeback in Formula One racing but I always enjoy driving a Formula One car when I have the opportunity”

As expected the Force India formula one has switched over to McLaren from Ferrari for engine supply. Lets see if this partnership can change their fortunes.

Force India Formula One Team Announces Technical Partnerships With Mclaren Applied Technologies, Mercedes-Benz Highperformanceengines And Eads

Force India Formula One Team is pleased to announce a major new partnership that will propel the team forward for the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship and beyond; a ground-breaking technical partnership with McLaren Applied Technologies (which is a company wholly owned by the McLaren Group) and with Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines.

In a unique long term deal, the Force India Formula One Team VJM02 cars will be powered by engines designed and built by Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines, the first time that the legendary manufacturer has supplied another chassis constructor other than McLaren. Additionally, Force India will have access to the McLaren Group’s network of bespoke suppliers that has supported this year’s World Championship victory.

McLaren Applied Technologies will additionally supply the Force India Formula One Team cars with McLaren Racing gearboxes and hydraulic systems and will provide operational support to ensure Force India functions at its highest possible level.

The Force India Formula One Team also plans to fit its cars with a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) that is currently being developed by Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines and McLaren Racing (which is also a company wholly owned by the McLaren Group).

In conjunction with aerospace company EADS – which, like McLaren and Mercedes, is also a global leader in its field – Force India Formula One Team announced that it will soon be expanding the computational fluid dynamics capability of its Brackley Aero Centre facility.

Dr. Vijay Mallya, chairman and managing director of Force India, commented: ‘We are absolutely delighted to be able to announce a technical partnership with McLaren Applied Technologies and Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines, and also our plan to expand the composite manufacturing capability and drawing office within our Silverstone facility.

‘McLaren and Mercedes-Benz are two of the most famous names in motorsport history, having achieved great success in Grand Prix racing over many years, and most recently, a superb victory in probably the most dramatic World Championship Formula 1 has seen.

‘These new resources and developments will provide an enormous boost to our technical armoury and, as a result, we have high hopes of making good progress in 2009 and beyond.

‘Force India Formula One Team has been in existence for only one year, and inevitably our first season has constituted a learning period. But we said at the outset that we meant business and were not interested in merely making up the numbers. The announcement of our new technical partnership, combined with the new developments and resources outlined above, clearly underlines that we meant what we said. I would like personally to thank Bernie Ecclestone and FIA president Max Mosley, both of whom offered their assistance and support throughout the gestation of this deal.’

‘Interest in Formula One in India, especially among the 300-million-plus professional-class demographic as well as in neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Abu Dhabi with a large Indian population, is growing at astonishing levels. Formula One commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone has declared plans to stage an Indian Grand Prix in 2011, in Delhi, our capital city, by which time Force India Formula One Team will be exactly that: a Formula One force in, and for, India.’