Mid-season review: Force India, saved from the brink!
The first half of Force India's season was marked by financial difficulties, uncertainty regarding its future, and finally hope, with the investment of a Canadian consortium that saved the team from bankruptcy. From a sporting perspective, Sergio Pérez's podium in Azerbaijan was the highlight of a championship that had been less successful than in 2017.
6th in the Constructors’ Championship: 59 pts
Brilliant fourth force on the grid for two seasons, the Force India team seemed to have found stability in performance that the former Jordan team, then Midland, then Spyker, struggled to reach for some time. Unfortunately, while the sporting aspect offered promising horizons with two talented drivers pushing each other upwards, Sergio Pérez and the French hopeful Esteban Ocon, it was rather on the structural side that concerns needed to be directed.
Vijay Mallya, the Indian businessman who has owned the team for 10 years, is indeed embroiled in suspicions of tax fraud in his country, confining him to residence in the UK and preventing him from wisely investing in his toy and thus paying his creditors. The situation took a catastrophic turn on the morning of the Hungarian Grand Prix when Sergio Pérez, pushed by other team members, placed Force India under administration.
But just as the team’s future seemed to follow that of the defunct Manor at the end of 2016, a Canadian consortium led by Lawrence Stroll, father of Lance, saved the team by investing massively and paying off all debts, thus sidelining the troublesome Mallya. With the team’s future secured, Force India now looks ahead and will already benefit from this unexpected financial windfall to finally develop its car and once again focus primarily on the sporting aspect, which had been neglected until now.
The pilots
Held hostage by the lack of development of the VJM11, Sergio Pérez once again pulled the chestnuts out of the fire by delivering an unexpected podium during the chaotic race in Azerbaijan. However, the latest Force India creation behaves rather erratically and often doesn’t allow the Mexican to shine. He did, however, manage to take his car to Q3 four times. A rather lackluster record for a driver used to the Top 10 last year, having entered the points 9 times at the same period.
Dominated in all areas by his teammate, forced to have his team placed under judicial administration, Pérez’s season is one of the toughest since his year at McLaren in 2013. The Mexican must bounce back after a restorative summer break. But he assures himself: his future would be secured, at Force India or in another team, like the Haas F1 Team.
The start of Esteban Ocon’s season was more complicated than expected. Suffering from bad luck and poor choices, like in Baku at the start, the Norman only scored one point in the first five races before achieving more convincing results, dominating his experienced teammate in qualifying. The erratic behavior of his car doesn’t help, but the Frenchman keeps in mind that his main objective is to dominate his teammate this year in all areas to have the chance to wear the Mercedes suit in the near future. It won’t be for 2019, as Valtteri Bottas has extended his contract. Worse, Daniel Ricciardo’s signing with Renault also closes an interesting door. The status quo at Force India might therefore be the best solution for Ocon in the short term, as he is a good friend of Lance Stroll in the paddock.
| Head to head… | Score | |
| 1 | In Qualifications | 8-4 for Ocon |
| 2 | In Race | 7-4 for Ocon |
*: the statistic does not take into account cases of double abandonment (in France here)
| Driver | Qualifications: number of top 10 | Qualifications: best place | Race: number of top 10 | Race: best place | Championship points | |
| 1 | Sergio Pérez | 5 | 8th (China and Azerbaijan) | 5 | 3rd (Azerbaijan) | 30 |
| 2 | Esteban Ocon | 5 | 6th (Monaco) | 6 | 6th (Monaco and Austria) | 29 |
The rest of the season
Of course, the purchase of the team by Lawrence Stroll is generating a lot of buzz. It seems clear that Lance, the new owner’s son, already has his place with the team, possibly even by the Belgian Grand Prix. Sergio Pérez’s investors will be difficult to displace, so Esteban Ocon’s place is the most threatened. Only pressure from Mercedes could prevent an early end to the season for the Norman driver, who doesn’t deserve to be sidelined.
In any case, this new financial contribution has also enabled the development of the single-seater to progress. Force India has potential and has already proven it by securing the 4th place in the constructors’ championship with flair over the past two years. Therefore, they will have to be counted on for the second half of the season and beyond, regardless of the drivers behind the wheel.
#F1 – A consortium led by Lance Stroll’s father buys the F1 team @forceindiaf1 | Possible father-son reunion in a team 🇨🇦? #formula1 #canada #stroll #forceindia https://t.co/vp3HpQ4XGr pic.twitter.com/rx7sFaFUX2
— MTLSPORTSBUZZ (@mtlsportsbuzz) August 7 /f1/news/22877-sergio-perez-places-sahara-force-india-under-administration.html
