The former boss of the Indian team F1 Vijay Mallya on the genesis of the name of the “Force India” team

The former owner of the Indian team F1, Vijay Mallya, said that named his team “Force India” came from a desire to place the Indian tricolor at the top of world motor sport. Speaking on Raj Shamani’s podcast, the former alcohol baron explained that his investment in the team was motivated by a personal passion for the race rather than a marketing strategy.

Force India has acquired the reputation of hitting above its weight on a modest budget in the world of Formula 1. In racing circles, Mallya held up, having previously competed and moved away from the Federation of India Automobile Sports Clubs (FMSCI), the Indian FIA regulatory arm. Now a fugitive residing in the United Kingdom, the businessman born in Bangalore made his first public appearance in almost nine years thanks to this podcast. His latest appearance in the F1 Paddock was at British GP in 2018 after the revocation of his Indian passport.

In the show, Mallya reiterated that the F1 team was born only from its love for car races, although it then evolved into a platform to promote some of its commercial interests. He stressed that the name “Force India” reflected its ambition to present India and its national colors on the world of motorsport. As passionate about a lifetime, he described his F1 business as anchored in passion rather than in commercial intention.

Ask why he appointed his F1 FORCE India team, Mallya said:

“Now, I named it Force India, I could easily have named it Mallya Formula 1, like Williams F1, for example. Because I wanted to be the Indian flag to be on the grid. I wanted to know that the team with roots in India from all countries, was at the Pinnacle of Motor Sport. McKay, whom we owned at that time, Kingfisher, then the airline.

When asked if the F1 team was a marketing stay to promote its brands, Mallya replied:

“I have always been racing in my blood and I always liked racing cars. I was involved in motor sports racing clubs in India. I was president of the Federation of Motorsport Clubs in India. Now, for everyone who is in the car race, the absolute formula of the image of Motorord Bucks Glamor, seriously competitive racing divided by hundredths of a second, full of excitement, etc., all the different attributes that I applied to my marks.

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Vijay Mallya is clean on her investment in F1 and her team sale in Lawrence Stroll

Vijay Mallya believes that his financial difficulties, combined with the fall of the Sahara, left him other than selling the team. Taking the accusations that Kingfisher Airlines’ funds were diverted to finance F1 outfit, the alcohol baron insisted that it was a story shot by the inherited media. Force India was sponsored by Sahara, who also supported the Indian Cricket team.

The decline of Subrata Roy brought a second blow to what Mallya considered his most successful commercial enterprise. Despite the end of the end, he has no regrets in his F1 involvement and said that he would have done nothing differently. Mallya argues that he would have kept the team if the circumstances had allowed, rather than selling it to Lawrence Stroll. The team entered the administration in 2018 and was then renamed as a race point.

Asked about having to invest a large part of the money in the F1 team, Mallya said:

“Of course I did. Formula 1 is not cheap.”

Asked if the investment of the F1 team was a bad decision, he said:

“No, with hindsight, I wouldn’t do anything different.”

When asked why, because he had to sell it, and the team was accused of being a shell investment, Mallya said:

“What accusations? For what?”

Mentioning that the accusation was that of the funds of Kingfisher Airlines diverted to the F1 team, the owner of Force India said:

“No one is talking about it … I don’t want to waste my time correcting the dams from the inherited media.”

Asked about the sale of the F1 team, he replied:

“Yes Force One [India] has become a racing point. And now it’s Aston Martin Formula 1. “

When asked why he sold the team, Mallya said:

“I had to that time because of my world frost orders, the problem that Sahara was going through and so on. So, at the end of the day, I would have definitely kept it, but it should not be.

At its peak, Force India obtained an impressive fourth place in the manufacturers’ championship in 2017, with Sergio Perez and Nico Hülkenberg as pilots. Vijay Mallya had also launched that of a billion billion campaign, aimed at identifying and feeding the aspiring F1 talents among young Indian pilots. The program graduates included Arjun Maini and Jehan Daruvala. Known for having regularly struck its weight despite a limited budget, the Indian outfit has laid the foundations for what is now the Aston Martin F1 team.

Mallya’s trip to Formula 1 started with the acquisition of Spyker Ferrari, formerly Jordan F1, which he renamed in India Force. Although Aston Martin is an ambitious project supported by much more important investments, he has not yet exceeded the realization of India. Since its brand change in 2021, the best finish of the team in the manufacturers’ championship remains fifth.