I am serious about Formula 1 and Force India: Vijay Mallya
Owner of Force India Vijay Mallya recently claimed that he is still committed to his Formula 1 team and the sport as he hopes to take his team to the top in the future.
He insisted that he does not see his involvement in the sport just as a hobby as it is more like his job now.
He bought the team in 2007 and the 2010 Formula 1 season went really good for the team as Force India finished in seventh place in the constructors’ standings just a single point behind Williams.
Other than Formula 1, Vijay is also interested in cricket as the multi-billionaire businessman bought the team Royal Challengers Bangalore which plays in the Indian Premier League.
“F1 and cricket are part and parcel of our business tools for promotion, and are sports in which, not only I am interested, but in which India is hugely interested. You can't say that (sport team ownership) takes the focus away from the businesses that produce
the cash,” he told the media.
It is expected that he will reveal the drivers’ line-up officially very soon and it is expected that he will keep Adrian Sutil for another season in his team. On the other hand, he might release Tonio Liuzzi from the team despite the fact that his contract
with Force India is effective until the end of 2011.
Tonio is expected to be replaced by Force India’s reserve/test driver Paul di Resta for the 2011 season while Nico Hulkenberg is expected to be their third driver but this has not been confirmed yet.
However, Vijay is proud of his team and he believes that they are growing with every passing year.
“I am proud that the Force India F1 team. From the end of 2007, when I bought the team, to today it has come a long way. I'd love to be on the podium in the inaugural Indian Grand Prix,” he admitted.
As we are all aware, it is not easy to make a name in Formula 1 as it requires a lot of experience and experimentation which teams learn with due time.
“F1 is perhaps the most technically competitive sport in the world. You are no longer fighting for half a second; you are fighting for one-hundredth of a second. It has become a lot more competitive so it is very difficult to move up the ladder quickly,”
he added.
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