Force India was expected to name its drivers for 2013 in early December but the decision has been delayed while team partners Vijay Mallya and Roy Subrata Sahara have been dealing other problems at home in India. It is assumed that Paul Di Resta will be staying on for a third season with the team and the talk is that the second seat will either go to Adrian Sutil or test driver Jules Bianchi. The Frenchman’s candidature has been linked to possible deals with Ferrari for engines in 2014, which is interesting given that the team’s alliance with Mercedes-Benz was largely responsible for di Resta’s presence in the team. If that alliance is being unstitched in the future, the Scotsman may need to start looking around for opportunities in 2014.
The team says that the choice of driver is not a question of money but it is hard to see why in that case it is taking so long for any decisions to be made. Clearly both Mallya and Sahara have their hands full in India. Sahara has been ordered to repay vast sums to investors, and he was required by the Supreme Court to pay $2 billion to the Securities and Exchange Board of India by the end of the first week of January. Reports in India say that this has not happened and that Sahara wants to go on arguing about the situation with the legislature. If he loses this argument the courts could seize his assets.
Mallya has been up to his neck in trouble with Kingfisher Airlines, which lost its flying licence over the New Year. There are now reports that the company’s lenders, who are owed something in the region of $1.4 billion, have had a meeting and decided that they will take legal action to recover their money as all other attempts have thus far failed. Mallya continues to talk about a possible rescue bid from Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airlines.
On paper, the team would appear to be a bit short of sponsorship as the primary sponsor in recent years has been Kingfisher Airlines and a big chunk of the budget has come from another Mallya company called United Spirits. However this has effectively been sold to Diageo and there have been no announcements from the British company about whether the F1 sponsorship will continue.
The key question is really whether the pair can find cash from other sources to avoid the F1 team getting into trouble. In the past the team has borrowed large sums but lenders seem to be thinner on the ground these days.
Despite all this the team seems to believe that all is well for the year ahead, which makes it rather curious that no decisions have been taken over drivers.
given such conditions even the participation of Force India in 2014 looks doubtful ..
I am not sure that one can go that far, but one has to ask the question.
As soon as I saw this link on Twitter I knew it was going to be yet another attack on Mallya. Change the record.
Did you read the story? It is not an attack on Mallya, it is a report about what is happening to him and to his business partner in India and why this might be important for the F1 team. You may not realise it, but F1 runs on money – large amounts of it – and it does not grow on trees. So if the owners of a team are also its sponsors and they are both in financial trouble it is quite correct to ask the question. There are a lot of people who depend on the team for their livelihoods and it is right that such problems be reported. Do you deny that these things are happening? Do you think that they have no effect?
Anyway, if you don’t like it, don’t read it. I really do not care if you stay or go, my goal is not to collect clicks from large numbers of flag-waving fanboys, but rather to provide sensible information for people who want to understand the sport. Your post does nothing to suggest that you are one of those people.
Well said.
SFI is in good hands and its partner Sahara is not going down any time soon. He is the second largest employer in India. For those of you who think Mallya or his partner cannot run this team. Sorry to say, its a distant reality guys.. These guys run the show in India and are sponsors of all the major sports in India.
And they do it without any money. Magicians? Or…
This is India! abk is right, mallya and sahara will come out of this without that much loss. India is a very corrupt government system and these two will get out of this situation. regarding money, they will still have plenty of money available after this…
I am sure that the government of India will be delighted to hear you say that.
That these guys have steered their ships, whilst carrying so much national, social and economic responsibility, into so many troubled waters is not my definition of good hands; and they most certainly do not run the show, as they may well be about to find out. No (failing) business is bigger than the banks and investors that fund it nor, theoretically at least, the legislature.
Add some support to your assertion for solvency being a non-issue by citing previous “large employers” who are “sponsors of all the major sports”. Let’s start with global giants like Enron, Worldcom, and Bear Stearns. However, after a bit of research you might discover folly. So let’s use a better poker player. How about AIG? They pulled off what many insolvent multinationals that are “large employers” who are “sponsors of all the major sports” would love to achieve. QED
Yeah, but where are they now?
that was the point. To assume that Force India is ok because Mallya and Sahara are “big” is a joke. My point is that “big” means nothing except someone was short sighted enough to lend them too much money. I think Fergal below is saying the same thing.
Beatrice Foods was a classic. The bankers took their F1 sponsorship ambitions as a signal the company had lost it’s marbles (advertising a brand not a product) and homed in to split it up.
Go read up on Sean Quinn, Ireland’s Mallya – our former richest man, and our former biggest employer, who “ran the show here”: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/02/sean-quinn-jailed-contempt-dublin?INTCMP=SRCH
Of course I read the article. It’s mainly a re-hash of all the flack you regularly fling at Mallya. I have no horse in this race, I just find it amusing that he gets under your skin so much. It is, of course, your blog and your right to post anything you like – I’ll keep reading as most of the time it’s actually very useful.
No, it is not a rehash. It is the latest update. You may not notice but things change, on a daily basis. A lot has changed since I last mentioned him. You seem to think that I have a particular fixation with him. I don’t. I couldn’t give a toss if he ran a disastrous airline or a successful chain of corner shops. I am simply writing news.
It does’nt make sense for their sake that 2 guys with as many financial ‘challenges’ as Mallya & Sahara continue to own an F1 team. As far as saleable F1 teams go this would probably be a good one, quality team at a reasonable price that can continue to be built upon. The optics of unloading the team and ego hit are probably the only reason they continue to be Force India. Look everyone things must be fine we own an F1 team…..
My bet is their are probably lots of parties keeping their eye on this team for takeover opportunities, to his credit Mallya has built some value into the team so it’s a ‘good base’. All thats required is some deeper high profile pockets (not easy to find due to current financial climate) so Mallya can bow out and spin it as a success.
I wonder what the price tag is for Jordan/Midland/Spyker/Farce India these days?
Remember Luke! Let the Farce be with us
corner shops!!! thats a tad racist….
Oh, for goodness sake. It is not racist at all. Go and find out what the word means before you throw it around.
To be blunt, Joe made a call as to VJM based on personal encounter, and called him a bad egg. Ever since, though obviously this is not cause and effect, news has poured forth as to the unscrupulous behavior of Mallaya. Didn’t see anyone else calling the guy out, not even in the business press who allege they are more astute as to such things. Sometimes, you just have to know the type, the human weaknesses, and think a bit. I think above all it’s VJM’s attitude which condemns him, and once alerted to the possibility he’s a rotter, the argument stacked up. Accounting can be pure BS, in the wrong hands, let alone the good ones well meaning who cannot follow the bible length amendments to the codes. But good human judgment can be more accurate. I think we just got more of the latter, as usual, on a plate. All the wrong signals were there, plain to see. Once pointed out. Also not a soul here wants a team to bite the dust. So there’s no vendetta. FI team did a sterling job, but that really cannot be said of others in high places.
“on January 9, 2013 at 07:25 | Reply John ( other John )
To be blunt, Joe made a call as to VJM based on personal encounter, and called him a bad egg. Ever since, though obviously this is not cause and effect, news has poured forth as to the unscrupulous behavior of Mallaya. Didn’t see anyone else calling the guy out, not even in the business press who allege they are more astute as to such things. Sometimes, you just have to know the type, the human weaknesses, and think a bit. I think above all it’s VJM’s attitude which condemns him, and once alerted to the possibility he’s a rotter, the argument stacked up.
Sorry the above : wordpress really mungs up on my PC
My point of reply to J-O-J is that it has a hint of the blueness of Spanish Infanta’s blue eyes about it… ?
Joe I often find myself actually laughing out loud when I read some of your reply’s. The obviousness of the reply is what makes me “lol” for real. Good one.
Quick question, will you be in Melbourne this year during F1 GP? I assume you will, but just wondering. If so, perhaps you might be interested in seeing some grass roots level racing from inside a small team?
I am always in Melbourne.
Bit harsh Dave. Force India is currently owned and funded by two companies / individuals who are facing serious liquidity issues. An update on the companies is useful and will at some point impact the F1 grid.
Bit harsh Joe, I’m a flag waving fan boy!
Sorry, the Daves of this world “harsh my mellow”.
I see everywhere that its assumed Di Resta will keep his seat for this year. However if Force India’s links to Mercedes are lessening and Sutil and Bianchi are waiting in the wings I wonder if there is an outside possibility that Di Resta could be a surprise casualty of the drivers market for 2013?
No, I don’t think that will happen.
Still stranger things have happened in F1!
When you lay out the Force India situation like that Joe you really have to question how and why the team appear so secure. It’s tough to see where the money to run the team will be coming from, but surely if there was an issue there would be a bit more noise about it maybe in the form of personnel walking away.
Sponsorship wise, I think Diageo will maintain UB branding on the car, the product propositions and target markets are quite different (with the exception of Whyte and Mackay) I can see Diageo ending the McLaren agreement, with a Tequila company taking their place.
Jules Bianchi and Paul Di Resta seem like the probable driver line up, which is a shame for Bruno Senna and Hekki Kovalinen.
One must hope that the team has the money.
Would the pending lawsuit/settlement of Diageo vs 130 thalidomide victims in Australia & NZ be of concern of Force India’s sponsorship?
It’s been a long time since a team as successful on the track as FI disappeared. Is Bernie lining up white knight?
If there is a need for a buyer, I am sure that Mr E will find someone. Having said that there are a number of teams that have been idly looking for investors of late and not many buyers that I have seen, at least not ones that are serious.
Would Mr. E find someone in order to maintain local interest in the race? You have been to the Indian GP and I have not. Do people in India care whether there is an Indian team? Would the GP thrive regardless of whether FI still exists? Given Mallya’s choice not to sign up any Indian drivers maybe the answer is yes, but you’ve seen the crowds firsthand.
I don’t think it is possible to generalise but I think that most Indians would rather support Narain Karthikeyan and do not really understand why he is not in a Force India car.
I am an Indian, and I think narain should never be in f1.. he is simply not good enough for that.. I’d rather see the team with two excellent drivers, running in the midfield and above, rather than languishing in the bottom with Indian drivers.
I disagree.
Maybe this is an opportunity for Brabham to come back… JOKE!
If no-one was willing to pick up HRT, why would they pick up Force India?
Was HRT in such shambles or didn’t Bernie put any effort into a potential sale?
While Force India has more knowledge and a better starting point, I assume buying Force India is also much more expensive than buying HRT.
Is there a case for some sort of ‘fit and proper’ persons rule in F1, much as they have in football. I guess a number of the sports ‘personalities’ may contravene such a rule. In some instances there is an element of bringing the sport into disrepute, but even if that is overlooked, there are a lot of employees who lose out.
Mallya is a bit of a King of Bling and rather pleased with himself, but there is no escaping the fact that he has done a lot to promote F1 in India. Some will say that this is the by-product of his own self-promotion rather than the main goal, but that is not really important from an F1 point of view. The Indian market is massive and F1 wants to be there. Thus the sport wants to see Force India be successful. In any case, F1 would not be much fun without the colourful characters involved although it is better if they get in the newspapers for being successful rather than for corporate juggling acts. Anyway, there is nothing new under the sun. The sport revered Colin Chapman but look what happened to him…
Does Sutil have backing from the computer company, was it Mediun or some such?
I asked this in a previous article/post and apparently not.
Sorry, typo… “Does Sutil still have backing from the computer company, was it Mediun or some such?”
Surely Bruno Senna must stay in the frame as he has a reportedly huge finance package from Brazil (that surname’s at least good for something) if money is tight at the team.
He’s got to be the man with the deepest pockets (as well decent experience) left on the driver market at the moment.
I hope sincerely that Bruno Senna will get the cokpit, not only for his “deep pockets” (which he has of course), but also because he would be the most calculable solution: Sutil was one year off completely and Binachi would be a yougster. Senna has shown well pace in 2nd half of 2012 and was a constant point finisher. I would love to see him in a decent car.
I’m a bit surprised at Jaime Alguersuari’s omission. He has valuable knowledge of the 2013 Pirelli’s and depending on where you read he has secured decent financial backing too. Add to this his youth and undoubted talent and he fits Force India’s candidacy perfectly. I feel he should be given another chance…
Interesting and yet again look at Walldorf (your article of 2010) Thieme, Van Roussen (SIC) and many others and I met many of them but that is another story. They come and they go but more to the point surely is they taint F1? You also have to seriously consider the real potential victims and those are the staff who work very hard to achieve only to be let down by people whose ego exceeds their financial capabilities. These people have families and responsibilities – who cares about them in F1? Surely the FIA can operate a system of due diligence on new team owners as Iain suggests? For sure not watertight as “things happen” but…….
joe,if you have to choose a driver for fi,then who would you choose?
With all these things it is about the needs of the team. I think that Bianchi is a good choice for the future if he brings the team cheap Ferrari engines in 2014. Sutil showed good pace and maturity on the race track in 2011, although I have to say I would steer clear of a driver who gets himself into legal serious troubles – unless he is World Championship material and worth the pain. I still think that Bruno Senna deserves a proper season of F1 without being disadvantaged on Friday mornings, but I do not see that deal happening. F1 is tough and so those who are only “good enough” are actually not good enough! Kobayashi is a very decent driver but he has been axed because teams are always looking for the next mega-star.
Any word on Heikki? He was super quick in the Caterham – consistently had the better of his quite experienced team mates. I would have him over Sutil, Senna or Bianchi.
Me too but he requires paying. I think I’d go for Senna over Sutil for all sorts of reasons, including potential, pennies and profile.
Bianchi is a risk, especially as his stock seems to diminish rather than improve with each passing year but, I guess, if Toro Rosso flies the Ferrari nest, there may be financial mileage in his signing as the Scuderia seeks new engine partners. But how serious are they about Bianchi? There are numerous others, even excluding Vettel, who’d make better Massa replacements, especially as (I think) 2014 is the last year of Alonso’s contract.
Joe, is there a chance force india could run one car?
None at all.
The teams have to run two cars. They have no option of a single car entry.
Even if it were possible it would be financially stupid. Once you’ve gone to the trouble of paying a team, designing a car, shipping everything out to the race, blah blah blah, the cost of physically building a second car is relatively small and dwarfed by the combined revenues of the sponsorship and pay-driver deals.
So they are in trouble.
Sutil is the only guy that would guarentee a great handful of points, Bianchi might not do as well as they’d hoped, do they want to risk it?
But i would like to see Bruno Senna get the seat.
If the team needs money, Bruno must be worth serious consideration as he comes with a lot of backing from Brazil.
Werent FI looking at Bruno in 2009 but they thought he was going to sign with Honda?
Joe – Hope you enjoyed your Christmas break.
Can you cast any light as to why Di Resta seems to have been ignored by the main team principals looking for drivers over the silly season? It seems like he was touted for big things not that long ago. Yet when possible opportunities (eg McLaren) were available, he doesn’t appear to be in the mix.
Could it be that the principals are looking for younger drivers or that contractual agreements (noting that anything can be changed these days through various clauses!) prevented it?
On the basis of your analysis, it suggests that if FI change to Ferrari power in 2014, Di Resta could lose his Mercedes backing and possibly be out of the sport? That seems like a big fall from the position he was in not that long ago.
Not without causing upset.
That’s a fascinating response to give. I hope you’ll be able to give us the full story at some point in the future.
I was wondering the other day about a potential Di Resta move to Red Bull to replace Webber down the line. None of the Toro Rosso kiddies seem to cut the proverbial mustard and the Scot appears to have the right temperament to put up with being driver two.
Or maybe that’s just because his TV image is so similar to perennial runners-up Coulthard and Webber?
Totally impossible Joe? Or just not “politically” sound at the moment, until the quicksand of F1 allegiances shifts again?
Perhaps I can help Adrian Newey Jr. The main reason as to why Di Resta seems to have been ingnored by the main team principals is simply because he HAS been ignored. So in this sense, your preception is consistent with reality. Was is not consistent is the (mainly British) perception that Di Resta is a super star in the making, despite the mediocre results over two years as compared with team mates. May I ask ANJ, why should a major team have picked Di Resta over a Perez, Hulkenberg, Hamilton for a major drive? Results talk in the game of F1 and the reality is that no future superstar would have been beaten over two full seasons, pretty comprehensively, by a Sutil or newly returning Hulk.
This is not why he was not chosen for Sauber. The reality is to do with personality.
The personality of PdR’s, that of someone at Sauber, or a clash of the two?
I have read several times in different places that Paul di Resta is a bit of a sulky type. I don’t see why it would matter if the driver is good enough but maybe there’s a lot more to it.
That is a perceptive assessment.
Probably because he beat Vettel to the Euro F3 title back in 2006 and arrived in F1 as the reigning DTM champion. Both achievements can be knocked for the details here and there but he arrived with trophies to his name and as Joe always says, the best driver is the one who finishes the season with the most points.
I’m not saying I agree, I’m just giving you a solid explanation for the hype.
Over-rated? Probably. Aren’t they all? Wins in lower formulae are one thing, getting your hands on F1 silverware is a whole new kettle of bad clichés.
Hmm, fair enough. Point taken. Perhaps one thing we may agree on is that if he does not destroy his 3rd team mate, who is likely to be a rookie, his top echelon hopes of an F1 career will be over. This year is important and it will be interesting to see how that pressure manifests in PDR.
Consistent driver, seems to be a safe choice. I honestly can’t remember seeing Di Resta make a big mistake, cause a collision etc. Only retired twice in his two seasons in F1. Bringing the car home in the midfield scuffle is an achievement in itself, when you’re on the same track as Maldonado and Grosjean.
But yes, will need to suddenly find some magic beans in order to become anything impressive. Given the nature of modern F1, PDR could easily find himself without a drive, let alone title aspirations, in the next couple of years.
I recall he tanked it big time in the last race…
The final race was horrible for PDR and he was pretty ordinary in Abu Dhabi and I can remember a few more poor races from him.
Please do not misunderstand me, I am not anti-PDR. I think he is capable. But he has not shown any indication that he could be capable of being in a top team yet. His performance in younger formula were good, but so were Kovalainen’s, Rosberg’s, Sato’s, Liuzzi’s, Trulli’s etc. They are all very good drivers of course, but we all know their F1 history.
I respect Joe’s opinion greatly, but really I do fail to see that PDR’s personality is so mismatched to rising to a better team. That the personality issue is the primary issues between him not rising and Hulkenberg and Perez and Hamilton being swooped up by other teams seems unlikely. If the results were there, genuinely there, and the prospect of greatness shone – even slightly, the personality would not matter. I also hear Perez is a pain in the arse when things dont go his way. But he has beaten Kobayashi 2 years running in pts. Got almost all the major results from the Sauber and shown glimpses of star potential. Therefore, he is sitting in a McLaren. Yes, Yes, Yes, he has Carlos Slim’s help, but his results are there. McLaren are hardly in need ot a pay driver.
The truth of the matter is he simply has not given a top teams a reason to look at him with genuine interest and maybe his personality is such that he hardly endears himself to the paddock, which would not help.
For me, PDR stands out as someone who as somehow got the paddock, the media and the fans very polarised in their veiws of his capability, his past two seasons and his future potential. It seems in some quaters, and on the BBC commentary team in particular, that he is a future mega star. But I feel like I am in the twilight zone as the results just are not there and there has really been no moment where I have gone, wow – there is someone who could be great.
This year is critical for PDR. He must be, at the very least, the leading driver in Force India (assuming he has the drive). If his team mate is a rookie, he will have to destroy them pts wise and quali wise. This is the minimum required for the boy. Harsh, but true.
It is not my opinion. I am simply reporting what I have been told. I don’t have an opinion on this.
There was maybe a slight nudge of some armco. Just a little bit. Maybe a broken wing endplate or something.
You know, that had totally slipped my memory, given the drama of the whole race. Left an odd anti-climax to the very end of the season I suppose, but Vettel had already done the job.
I agree with Scuderia (below), but would suggest that the words “risk-averse” apply quite well to Di Resta’s driving – perhaps odd, given he came in from the much more robust cars of DTM, maybe he’s over-compensating. Nothing much to report either good or bad.
Perez, Maldonado and Grosjean all have a collection of trophies matched in size by their individual collections of broken noses and shattered suspension struts. Di Resta by comparison has been dull.
As food for thought, Sauber as a team might simply prefer the high-risk approach – hence perhaps the argument that Di Resta’s personality doesn’t “fit” at Hinwil. Sauber’s record of classified** finishes over the past three years is joint 10th on the grid – only ahead of HRT, who aren’t really on the grid any more. Force India are joint 3rd with McLaren, just behind Ferrari and Red Bull.
** Classified finishes are a funny thing, and allow PDR to “finish” the Brazilian grand prix in 2012.
That was a massive great hit, not a glance of the barrier…
Yeah, sorry, that was some bad sarcasm going on there.
Given that Force India seems to be the only enterprise Mallya and Sahara are involved with that has any real potential left, they might be best advised to get their F1 act together, because in F1 standing still is to go backwards quickly. Their colossal failings elsewhere are hard to ignore but as a lifelong F1 fan, I really hope the team, which has its origins with Jordan, can continue with dignity.
I couldn’t care less about the ‘King of Bling’ and my only hope he doesn’t bring innocent people down with him. F1 and India deserve better trailblazers, in my humble opinion.
Where is the post about Caterham’s delay in selecting a second driver?
There is no story there. There is no need to rush. It is a buyer’s market. Secondly, I think you will find that AirAsia is a rather more successful business than Kingfisher so there is no need to look at Tony Fernandes & Co. if there was, I would be doing it.
Have Caterham set and missed a deadline for an announcement, or have they always remained vague on this one?
FI definitely claimed at the end of the year that there would be an announcement at their Christmas party, which I’m informed (by a rival bloggerist) came and went on the 8th of December with no news at all.
Joe, have you heard any gossip about Kubica’s future recently? Any chance for a F1 comeback?
No, he has admitted that he is not able to drive an F1 care properly and that is it.
Is Mallaya also involved in F1 in Schools India? .. I know Monisha Kaltenborn is.
No idea.
he is..and so is force India.
In fact its just these big companies that have stayed in the business for a long time … for all the franchises and businessman who had bought a company found it hard to manage it keep that in mind before going at someone…. of course it would more competitive if we had some financial constraints coming into play so that every team get a fair chance . Considering their problems in India ….they might sneak through ..well but its entirely different ball game which none of those who comment sitting in their couch knows. These guys are born negotiators and businessman.. only this time around they have got fair amount of dirt upon their silk suits …but i would like to see that team remain intact as force India .
They were impressive last season …nobody want to miss them out next season ..i think we can see fair amount of competition and i really hope they can challenge for that fifth place with few podiums…
I am not advocating their side even after seeing the trouble they have got in…but just for the sake of that team which is really improving ..not like a Jordan ..not like a midland…not like a spykar…as impressive as Force India
Any news on the fine Air Asia just received for misleading tax components on tickets?
Wonder if Caterham not selecting drivers yet is related?
A rather poor attempt…
Cheeky comment I know, but that’s how I find most reportings about F1. 1+1=11, not 2.
Did you at least laugh… It’d be nice to know you laughed.
Great post, Joe, bringing forth great comments as always. Thanks.
Whether Force India runs or not is one question. Like Joe pointed out, employees should not be affected. How Mallya pays them is his problem. Some of you may remember that not very long ago, the wife of a Kingfisher employee committed suicide because they were broke. No food for the wife and kids man!!!!!!!!! That’s disgusting. And our man does not want anything to be reported. I am a journalist myself and he is basically saying, “don’t do your job.”
If that is true it saddens me greatly. Truly and deeply.
Especially given Vijay just gave a few kilos of gold to some temple/church (whatever) to re-guild their doors and/or steps.
Sigh…
The suicide was big news in India. And yeah, you are right. He gave gold to a temple to be put on the door.