Force India
| Full name | Force India Formula One Team (2008–2011) Sahara Force India Formula One Team (2012–2018) |
|---|---|
| Base | Silverstone, United Kingdom |
| Founder(s) | Vijay Mallya & Michiel Mol |
| Noted staff | Steve Curnow Robert Fernley Mike Gascoyne Andrew Green James Key Colin Kolles Subrata Roy Otmar Szafnauer |
| Noted drivers | Sergio Pérez Esteban Ocon Giancarlo Fisichella Nico Hülkenberg Vitantonio Liuzzi Paul di Resta Adrian Sutil |
| Previous name | Spyker F1 Team |
| Next name | Racing Point Force India |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| First entry | 2008 Australian Grand Prix |
| Races entered | 203 |
| Engines | Ferrari & Mercedes |
| Constructors' Championships | 0 (best finish: 4th, 2016 and 2017) |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 0 (best finish: 2nd, 2009 Belgian Grand Prix) |
| Podiums | 6 |
| Points | 987 |
| Pole positions | 1 |
| Fastest laps | 5 |
| Final entry | 2018 Hungarian Grand Prix |
Force India Formula One Team Limited, commonly known as Force India and later Sahara Force India, was a Formula One racing team and constructor based in Silverstone, United Kingdom, with an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and Dutch businessman Michiel Mol bought the Spyker F1 team for €88 million.
After going through 29 races without scoring points, Force India won their first Formula One world championship points and podium place when Giancarlo Fisichella finished second in the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix. Force India scored points again in the following race when Adrian Sutil finished fourth, and set the team's first fastest lap, at the Italian Grand Prix. The team's other podium finishes are five third-places, in the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix, 2015 Russian Grand Prix, 2016 Monaco Grand Prix, 2016 European Grand Prix and the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, all achieved by Sergio Pérez.
In October 2011, Indian company Sahara India Pariwar, purchased 42.5% of Force India F1's shares at US$100 million.
In 2018, Vijay Mallya, accused of fraud and defaulting on loans, could not afford to continue to run Force India. By July 2018, ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, the team announced that they had been put into administration by the High Court in London. The team's assets were bought by a consortium of investors, named Racing Point UK, led by Lawrence Stroll, the father of then Williams driver Lance Stroll. The consortium used the assets to create a new entry into the sport named Racing Point Force India. The constructor that had been founded in 2008 ceased to exist prior to the 2019 Australian Grand Prix when the new team changed their constructor entry to "Racing Point".