The Force India name in Formula One has ceased to exist after the finalisation of the purchase of the assets of the Force India Formula One Team.

The acquisition was finalised on 18 August by a consortium of investors led by Lawrence Stroll. Other members of the consortium include Canadian entrepreneur Andre Desmarais, Jonathan Dudman of Monaco Sports and Management, fashion business leader John Idol, telecommunications investor John McCaw Jr, financial expert Michael de Picciotto, businessman Lawrence Stroll and his business partner Silas Chou.

Otmar Szafnaeur will take up the role of Team Principal and CEO while Robert “Bob” Fernely departs his role as deputy team principal. The rest of the senior management from the old Force India team retain their positions.

The team from this point forward will be known as Racing Point Force India F1 Team and will contest the rest of the season under the moniker. The pink and white of the previous Force India team will be in place with an added shade of blue.

Lawrence Stroll: “On Monday I stood in front of the workforce at Silverstone and Brackley and applauded the achievements of this team in recent years.

“The strength of any company is the people that make it up and it’s a huge privilege to begin this exciting new journey with such a talented group of men and women.

“I’ve been fortunate to establish and grow a number of successful businesses, but the opportunity to take this team forward to the next level is perhaps the most exciting challenge yet.

“Together with my fellow shareholders, we will invest in new resources and bring fresh energy to empower the workforce to continue racing at the very highest level.

“We are all passionate about motor racing; we recognise the racers’ spirit in Force India, and we are extremely motivated to make this team even more special in the years ahead.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal and CEO: “As we return from the summer break and prepare for the upcoming Belgian Grand Prix, I want to thank all the staff for their resolve and loyalty during the period of transition.

“Now that we are under new ownership and the future of the team is secure, we can focus on doing what we do best – going racing.

“We have a great management team in place and this stability will be extremely valuable as we begin the new era.

“I would like to thank Bob Fernley for his contribution to the success of this team over the last ten years and recognise the support of the previous shareholders for making Force India what it is today.”

Force India will forfeit their tally of 59 championship points while Racing Point will effectively begin their season on zero points from this weekends Belgian Grand Prix.

FIA Approval

While the new racing team was announced, the FIA, in a separate announcement accepted the entry of Racing Point Limited in an announcement of their own. The statement added that the FIA worked together with the joint administrators, Racing Point Limited and Formula One Management to get the deal done as quickly as possible.

“I am very pleased that a strong, positive outcome has been reached and welcome the mid-season entry of Racing Point Force India,” said Jean Todt, President of the FIA.

“Creating an environment of financial stability in Formula One is one of the key challenges faced by the sport, however thanks to the hard work of the FIA, the Joint Administrators, Racing Point and Formula One Management we have a situation now that safeguards the future for all of the highly-talented employees, and will maintain the fair and regulated championship competition for the second half of the season.”

Formula 1 Chairman and CEO Chase Carey said: “We are very pleased that the situation around Racing Point Force India has been resolved and that the team will continue to race in Formula 1.

“It is also very gratifying that in partnership with the stakeholders involved we have been able to safeguard the livelihoods of the many hundreds of people working at its Silverstone base.

“It’s enormously important that we have a full grid of competitive, capable teams in Formula 1 and we are confident that Racing Point Force India will go from strength to strength in the future.”

The creation of a new team under a new name and company adds a layer of safety to the team from the former owners of Force India. The issue of the prize money that is owed to Force India will now be in focus in the coming week. As it stands, the new team will not inherit any of the prize money from the previous seasons. What it will be able to do though is try to race and get as many points as possible from the remaining races in the season to at least earn some money from their constructors finish.