The Sahara Force India team is nearing a deal that would see it rebranded as Aston Martin Racing for the 2016 Formula One season.
Such a transformation would signify Aston Martin’s return to F1 after more than half a century, as well a new chance for the British sports car manufacturer to take on direct rivals such as McLaren and Ferrari. Aside from the name change, the team’s livery will allegedly be blue and gold mirroring the image of potential new sponsor Johnnie Walker (currently supporting McLaren).
In order for this to happen, Mercedes (who owns 5% of Aston Martin and supplies Force India with engines) obviously had to give their OK. For them, it was a much safer venture than partnering up with Red Bull and creating a potential championship rival.
Force India team principal Vijay Mallya was quoted as saying that “If tomorrow someone comes and offers me a good sum of money for title sponsorship, I’ll seek the team name. If the marque comes along and I have to change the team name, I have to look at what it does for the team in terms of profile. It’s premature to talk about it now, but we’re talking.”
At the moment, Force India is one of hottest teams in Formula 1, and perhaps one of the most underrated. The team operates at a very high level of performance and consistency and currently sits 5th in the 2015 Constructors Standings behind Red Bull.
Naturally, if they do indeed become Aston Martin, it will be under the watchful eyes of Mercedes who will still control their development in terms of power unit. As Aston Martin Racing, “Force India” would by no means join the ranks of other F1 engine manufacturers such as Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault who is also returning next year in place of Lotus.
As for the drivers, both Hulkenberg as well as Perez are a great duo and should still be with the team in the foreseeable future.
Story references: autosport
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