Force India Terminates Engine Deal With Ferrari As It Requires ‘Greater Performance Accountability’
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Nov 08, 2008
Force India have announced that they have ended their engine-supply contract with Ferrari. The agreement, signed in 2007, was due to last until the end of 2009, but will now terminate ahead of schedule at the request of Force India.
Force India owner Vijay Mallya offered to compensate Ferrari for any development costs incurred on Force India’s behalf for 2009.
Ferrari, who clinched a record 16th constructors’ championship in the Interlagos season-ender, also supply engines to the Toro Rosso team.
It is expected Force India, primarily run by Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya, who took control a year ago, will confirm Mercedes as their new suppliers as early as next week.
The German manufacturing giants have been partners to McLaren since 1995, and currently own 40% of the Woking-based team
“We have come a long way this season, but we need more and that requires some radical reorganization of the management structure to ensure maximum productivity,” Mallya said. “It has become clear that Force India requires greater performance accountability.”
UPDATE: November 10, 2008 07:01 am
Force India hope to be challenging for Formula One race wins by 2010 after announcing a five-year partnership with McLaren and Mercedes on Monday.
The deal, presented to factory employees by principal Vijay Mallya and McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh, will see the team use the same engines and gearbox as those in world champion Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren.
The Silverstone-based Formula One team, owned by Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya, have agreed a reported five-year deal with McLaren for the supply of gearboxes, hydraulic systems and Mercedes-built engines.
McLaren will lend operational support and provide the team with the new kinetic engine recovery system (KERS) that is due to be implemented for 2009.
The announcement comes three days after Force India ended their two-year deal with Ferrari for the supply of engines 12 months ahead of schedule.
“We’re absolutely delighted,” said Vijay Mallya, chairman of Force India. “McLaren and Mercedes-Benz are two of the most famous names in motorsport history, having achieved superb success in Grand Prix racing over many years, and most recently, a superb victory in probably the most dramatic world championship Formula One has seen.”
“Force India Formula One Team has been in existence for only one year, and inevitably our first season has constituted a learning period,” Mallya said.
“We said at the outset that we meant business and were not interested in merely making up the numbers,” Mallya said. “The announcement of our new technical partnership and new resources clearly underlines that we meant what we said.”
