F1 Preview: Force India

"tomtom615" (tomtom615) 02/14/2014 at 11:00 • Filed to: None

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For the next couple weeks, I'm gonna put out a preview for every F1 team for the 2014 season. I will try and be consistent and do it every weekday at 11:00 AM, but I know I'm lazy and may not get it every day, but I try!

*Program Alert* I will not be posting a preview on MLK day, so look for my next preview on Tuesday!

The Team:

Sahara Force India Formula One Team

Origins:

Spyker, Midlands, Jordan

Team History:

The team started as Jordan in 1991, then got bought by Midlands, then got bought by Spyker, then got bought by Force India. Since becoming Force India in 2008, the team have shown a slow but steady improvement. They have 1 pole, 2 fastest laps, no wins, and a best finish of 6th in the constructor's championship in 2011 and 2013.

The Car:

The VJM07 is the first Mercedes powered entry on our list, and it has the best livery of any car this year.

Is the Nose a Gentleman's Sausage?

Yes, but this is another smart team that has decided to make the large phallic extension black, which people seem to enjoy.

The Drivers:

Nico Hulkenburg- Hulkenburg is regarded by most as the best F1 driver without a factory drive. He started at Williams in 2010 and played second fiddle to Reubens Barichello, but showed great improvement in the second half of the year. In 2011 he served as test driver at Force India, before getting a drive again in 2012. He started slow again in 2012, but overtook Sutil as top driver, consistently being faster in the second half of the year. Nico spent 2013 at Sauber and was consistently fast in inferior equipment, even challenging the factory Ferrari team at times. He has 1 pole, 2 fast laps, no wins, and a best points finish of 10th. I would look for Hulkenburg to possibly win his first race this year.

Sergio Perez- Now, onto the driver that Kimi Raikonnen said he wanted to punch in the face. Perez was the wild man of F1 in 2013 driving very aggressively, especially with his teammate at McLaren, Jensen Button. Perez started his career at Sauber and found success quickly, getting 2 podium finishes in 2012, before heading to McLaren in 2013. At McLaren, it was a bit of a disappointing year with a best finish of 5th, and a points finish outside the top 10.

(I want to post as many pics as possible of that car because I love that livery)

The Sponsors:

Sahara India Pariwar is the primary, with Clario, Royal Challenge, Kingfisher, Roshfrans and a host of others supporting.

Perez is bringing along 15 million euros, so that tends to help finances.

Why You Would Like This Team:

The biggest reason anyone would be a fan of Force India up to this point are they were a fan of Jordan and stuck with the team. The other reason you might want to be a fan are because you're from India. If you feel they will continue to improve and will compete with Ferrari and Red Bull in five years, you could get in on the ground floor.

My Expectations:

What a step up this team will have in 2014! I believe with the new lineup of Hulkenburg and Perez, Force India will win its first race and get a top 5 finish in the constructor's championship. Hulkenburg will be a fixture in the top 10 and Perez should be able to keep pace with him.

marvthegrate > tomtom615 02/14/2014 at 11:06

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Force India is my favorite mid-field team. They don't suck, have had progress in their program, and seem to be one to watch going forward.

I like Nico, but don't like Sergio. He singularly failed to impress at McLaren. Being aggressive is one thing, being a danger to the others on the track is another.

Keep up the great work with your articles. Very much enjoyed reading them so far.

hike > tomtom615 02/14/2014 at 11:13

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I've never been a fan of Force India, but I really like their driver line up this year. They have arguably two of the best young drivers on the grid and if their car can be as good as it was the first half of last year, they could be finish as high as fourth in constructors.

KnowsAboutCars > tomtom615 02/14/2014 at 11:36

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Yes, but this is another smart team that has decided to make the large phallic extension black, which people seem to enjoy.

Not sure if innuendo.

midengineer > tomtom615 02/14/2014 at 12:02

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Be interesting to how Perez does this with Force India seeing as how last season's McLaren car kinda sucked.

McLarry > tomtom615 02/18/2014 at 12:30

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I think a lot of people are fans of Force India simply for Hulkenberg's sake... He's gained quite a fan base. Put him in a competitive car, and he'll contend for the championship.

Destructive Tester > KnowsAboutCars 02/19/2014 at 00:10

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I wondered about this myself. The color does make the dong significantly less noticeable, BUT there's the whole black gentleman's sausage thing...

durty > KnowsAboutCars 02/19/2014 at 07:45

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In-YOUR-endo, but seriously, how could this not have been innuendo?