Force India F1 team ties up with McLaren Applied Technologies

13 November 2008

Mumbai: Force India F1 team has tied up with McLaren Applied Technologies and Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines after it split up with engine supplier Ferrari. The Force India Formula1 Team VJM02 cars will now be powered by engines designed and built by Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines. This is the first time that Mercedes-Benz has supplied a chassis maker other than McLaren.

Force India will also have access to the McLaren Group's network of bespoke suppliers that have supported this year's World Championship victory.

As per the agreement, McLaren will supply gearboxes, hydraulic systems and Mercedes-built engines to Force India. McLaren will also lend operational support and provide the team with the new kinetic engine recovery system (KERS). The new partnership is expected to help the team for the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship and beyond.

''McLaren and Mercedes-Benz are two of the most famous names in motorsport history, having achieved great success in Grand Prix racing over many years, and most recently, a superb victory in probably the most dramatic World Championship Formula 1 has seen,." Vijay Mallya, chairman and managing director, Force India said.

"These new resources and developments will provide an enormous boost to our technical armoury and, as a result, we have high hopes of making good progress in 2009 and beyond," he added.

Even though Force India failed to score a point in 2008 with Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil as the drivers, there are hopes that things will be better in 2009. This is as there has been a management reshuffle after which team principal Colin Kolles and technical head Mike Gascoyne are both leaving.