The former Force India team have launched their new Racing Point identity.
The former Force India team have unveiled their new identity in an event at the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto. The name change follows the purchase of the team by a consortium in August 2018, after Force India went into administration. The consortium, led by Canadian businessman Lawrence Stroll, has grand plans for Racing Point, including hiring new staff and extending the Silverstone factory.
The livery on the new car – the RP19 – remains pink, but with added blue thanks to new title sponsor Sport Pesa. Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer spoke of the team’s new era at the launch:
“After months of hard work behind-the-scenes it’s incredibly exciting to come to Canada and present our new identity. The long-term aim is to take this team to the very top of the sport. We are putting the building blocks in place and it’s important we take a good step forward in 2019 as we begin this new era. We want to be fighting for podiums on merit and aiming for a strong top four finish in the championship.”
Financial issues definitely hurt the Force India team’s battle in 2018. After sacrificing their points from their first twelve rounds as a result of new ownership, they still finished seventh in the Constructors’ Championship. Sergio Perez, who took a podium finish at last season’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, remains at Racing Point for 2019. He’s joined by Lawrence Stroll’s son Lance – another recent podium finisher in Baku – who will be hoping to prove himself against one of F1’s best midfield drivers.
Read more about the history of Racing Point in our Team Profile.
After graduating in 2015 with a First Class honours degree in English Language and Literature, Nicky Haldenby, a lifelong fan of Formula 1, founded the Lights Out F1 Blog in 2016. Now in its sixth season, the blog has become a firm fan-favourite, delving deep into the sport’s history books and lifting the cover on unusual F1 statistics. Nicky also writes at F1Destinations and Motorsport Guides. In 2017 and 2018, he wrote for Badger GP. Nicky is also the host of the F1 Rewind Podcast and can be heard as the resident stats man on the 2 Soft Compounds Podcast.