Force India Forces Itself to Podium at Belgium GP

What a Race it was and what a result it turned out to be? Everybody who watched the F1 race live on television here in India, and Indians living abroad certainly would have beamed in pride and satisfaction of the thirst which finally had been quenched. Indian fans of Formula One, could not have asked for more.



India’s Force India F1 team, considered to be minnows till yesterday showed its true class and colours by taking the challenge head-on to the big guys in the grid. Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella, an Italian driving the Indian VJM02 Car powered by German engine (Mclaren-Mercedes) at Spa-Francorchamps F1 circuit in Belgium made the whole wide world stop its busy schedule to take a look at the arrived-with-a-bang team.



Fisi, though lost the first place to Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari who was aided to the finish with Kinectic Energy Recovery System (KERS) during the final second of the race, showed what raw grit, determination and hard work could do when he came in second to take the podium finish.

Vijay Mallya owned Force India F1 team, on its 30th attempt finally finished in the TOP 3 in an F1 race. 36-year-old Giancarlo Fisichella, despite not having the technological prowess of the bigger teams (read KERS) ended just 0.9 seconds behind Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen which earned him 8 points, the first ever won by an India team in F1.

This was nothing short of a tortoise-hare story that we had heard during our childhood. Patience was the key right from the start for Dr. Vijay Mallya’s team which delivered finally and how?

This seems to be a fitting reply to the Government of India which had just last week called F1, a costly entertainment rather than a sport.

Fisi’s collision with a rabbit on Saturday’s practice run probably could have brought him his lady luck that had been hiding in the closet, but it was Fisi’s sheer determination which made him stand in the podium beaming with pride and opening a bubbly to cherish the moment.

India’s tryst with F1 racing started with Vijay Mallya buying the Spyker MF1 team in 2007. Force India F1 team had to race in the Spyker chassis and cars for the entire year of 2008 as the team was acquired in late 2007. But the team started building its own car in the year 2009 and the results have been showing. About 95 per cent of the team sponsorship is being sponsored by Vijay Mallya himself.

It is high time that the Indian Government show the much deserved respect to F1 as a Motor sport and back Force India in whatever way possible.

BMW Withdraws from Formula One

This comes as a shocker for many Formula One fans. BMW has announced that it is withdrawing from world’s most viewed motorsports event Formula One racing! … BMW becomes the second team after Honda withdrew its candidature by end of 2008.

Well, BMW says that it is withdrawing from the racing event to restructure its motorsports activities. While the company claims that it wants to dedicate more resources to develop new racing technologies, but critics beg to differ.

BMW has been involved with Formula Once racing since 1980’s. It was an engine supplier to Brabham and helped clinch eight Formula One victories and one world title. Following the 1986 win, BMW exited from the F1 motorsports events till 2000. They again got back as the engine suppliers to Williams team which secured 10 victories over five years. BMW became an official Formula One entrant in 2006 after acquiring the Swiss Sauber team.

However, the current decision is hailed as a Landmark decision by BMW which has had three successful years, previously. BMW has struggled enormously in all events held this year. The team also lost its Credit Suisse sponsorship owning to the global economic meltdown. The company faced a huge credit crunch and BMW was unable to find a suitable replacement sponsorer for its F1 motorsports venture.

The decision has rendered a big blow to the Formula One event organisers. They fear that more teams will pull out form the event in the coming days. The FIA, the sports governing body has rushed into damage control mode. It is considering asking the main five constructer teams to sign an agreement to agree to continue to race till 2012. If this gets through the drive with which Formula One races are held will be diluted significantly.

Further Formula one’s involvement goes beyond mere racing in F1 events. It has been one of the manufacturer to run the Formula BMW junior championship. Leading racer Sebastian Vettel was found in this event. There are many other contributions of BMW towards FI.

The Formula One racing has become poorer by the exit of another car manufacturer.

Karthikeyan hopes to out-pace A1 GP rivals

As swanky Ferrari-powered cars throng the A1 GP grid, Team India spearhead Narain Karthikeyan reckons his Formula One experience would stand him in good stead and a top-six finish is quite an achievable target for the outfit.

Karthikeyan believes the introduction of Ferrari engines and chassis, following A1 GP's six-year deal with the Italian giant, will reduce the gap with Formula One and would be almost akin to driving an F1 car.

"Though it's going to be an unknown territory for all the drivers, who are yet to see the new car, I know what to expect," Karthikeyan told reporters after Team India unveiled its new livery and rookie drivers Armaan Ebrahim and Parthiv Sureshwaran here on Wednesday.

"I believe my Formula One experience would help," he said. Karthikeyan sniffs his chance in the first three races after, which A1 GP would have a two-month gap.

"We have to do well in the first three races. After that, there is a two-month break and others might catch up with us by that time," said Karthikeyan, who became the first Indian F1 driver when he joined Jordan in 2005 and was Williams' test driver the next year.

"Hardly any A1 GP driver has Formula One experience and that is a huge boost for us," Team India CEO Andaleeb Sehgal said.

David Clare, CEO of A1 GP Asia Pacific, also shared the view and said, "Team India has done reasonably well in the last season and with Narain's Formula One experience, I think they would win more races this year.

After all, Narain understands the car faster than any other driver. "I expect Team India to be the most competitive Asia Pacific outfit this season," he added.