F1 2017: Force India Could Be Rebranded As Force One

The only team to represent India on the grid, Force India has been on the grid for a decade now but could soon get a name change, a recent report suggests. Documents seen by Motorsport.com state that a series of UK based companies were registered on 31st May and 6th June 2017 under the 'Force One' name. With limited backing from Indian sponsors and diminutive interest for Formula 1 in India, the team is looking to adopt a more global name.

As per the documents, the registered names include Force One Grand Prix, Force One Racing, Force One Team, Force One Technologies, Force One Hospitality and Force One Brand. Force India's current director Dr. Thiruvannamalai Venkatesan Lakshmi Kanthan, has been listed as the director for the new companies as well, and is said to be a close associate of the team's promoter Dr. Vijay Mallya. The Dr. Kanthan has also held top spots in the latter's UB Group.

Force India was created out of Spykar F1 when Vijay Mallya bought the team in 2007

The move towards a more generic name has been cited due to the lack of sponsor interests from India or globally. Force India is the only team on the current F1 grid to attach a country's name to itself, largely due to Mallya purchasing the team in 2007, then known as Spykar F1. After the initial hype, the Indian Grand Prix is far from making a comeback, for a number of reasons and that has also kept Indian sponsors away from the team.

Opting for a more generic name then, will help the team attract investment. Clearly, Force India is more than willing to attract sponsors, case in point being BWT coming on board this season, which made way for a complete livery change.

DWT stepped in as the primary sponsor for Force India this season, prompting a colour change

However, the name registration is only to protect the name that is being favoured, so as to not have any copyright issues later. Moreover, the team will need the approval from the FIA and the F1 Commission and also some the teams saying "yes", to officially use the new name. While team name changes weren't particularly liked by former boss Bernie Ecclestone, Force India seems confident that the new owners of F1 will be a tad bit easier in that regard.

Having started as Jordan, Midland and later Spykar, Force India maintains that its next name change should last another 10 to 20 years, so that people know what it is. Force One, in that case, keeps the recall value.

Source: Motorsport.com