Force India and the past

[CaracasE30]

Ive been pretty intrigued by the incredible progress that the Force India team has made in F1 this year. They have stuck to their guns, fended off the critics, and have finally come to prove the rest of the F1 world that they in fact are here to stay and win.

I am amazed however at the success that they have enjoyed and the relative failures that other teams lived through. The now defunct Honda team has been an also-ran for much of the decade if you exclude the team in it's newest disguise. Toyota comes to mind also, and now quite frankly so does BMW Sauber. These are teams that are powerhouses and employ some of the best talent in the industry yet we never really have seen (saw) the long-lasting fruit they all promise(d). Don't get me wrong, I am well aware of the podiums and victories that these teams have collected here and there...but for a team on much smaller budget with much fewer resources, they have done quite well.

Now, Force India has not won a championship, contend the championship titles, fight for wins every race BUT they have come from the dead end of the grid and have established themselves in 2 years as formidable mid-field contestants. Toro Rosso seems to have taken their place, no?

What went wrong with the others and what went right for Force India? I always put them down...but they have even managed to impress me.

[T56 Impala]

Force India is the former Jordan team. Eddie Jordan was a VERY good team owner. He knew a good driver when he saw one and gave many of them a chance when no one else would have even looked their way. He laid the ground work for what the team is today. He was TERRIBLE at managing the team though. I do understand he threw some of the best parties though!

Now that the team has some good sponsorship and money to go along with it, I expect they will do very well. They will find it harder and harder to stay competitive though. It takes tons of cash to run a team, much more if you plan on being constantly competitive. They have a great driver line up right now. Both are quite capable of winning a GP.

Other teams (Honda, BMW to name two) have spent tons of money for basically nothing. They simply have not put the right people in the right places nor have they spent money wisely. They paid way too much for the teams they bought, and never could get past their name. (They EXPECTED to win because they were big names.) History in other motor sports does not translate into wins in F1.

[LJSE34]

We all better learn to appreciate a good curry, it may be new dish to eat in F1 and it seems they are serious.

Ps, I think tomorrow will be about Brawn if they don't screw themselves in the first corner.

[Rory]

They also for 2009 have a great technical partner

[LoveLEE143]

One answer, Mercedes engines

[CaracasE30]

The challenge between engine vs chassis has been more present then ever in the case of Force India. They have had the Merc motor all year but it seems their chassis/aero was not up to par which clearly is not the case today, late in the season as they have shown that they have come to grips with their chassis.

I dont think the Mercedes motor has everything to do with it, although from what I heard on the Speed broadcast was that the rumours are the Merc is 25hp stronger than the field even in a development freeze. Obviously we know the motor is a big factor, but the progress the team has made between Monza and Australia is monumental.

If Jordan or Minardi were ever owned by big money pockets such as Mallya...things would of been different a long time ago

[bigrojo37]

The aero package has been astronomically improved, which is also another huge factor to their success. I could not believe Liuzzi and how great he looked. Too bad the gearbox gave up. I hope he keeps it up and gets a second wind in F1 and not just the remainder of this season.

[rmani]

the new aero packages they put together are phenomenal. very solid team, very happy to see them do well

[dos Santos]

Last year, the Force India car was basically a Spyker. This year, with the new Merc engines and their own body design, it's a brand new car.

[Mr.M]

They also for 2009 have a great technical partner

That counts for nothing considering that technical partner is slower than they are. It's like saying Hamilton's WDC was owed to having a drivers' training partnership with a child who's in karting