Force India Unveils New Management Structure
November 8, 2008 by Christine
Filed under Press Releases
Following on from today’s announcement regarding the amicable termination of the Ferrari contract, the Force India Formula One Team has taken yet another step forward with its 2009 revamp plans.
Force India’s senior management structure will be streamlined with immediate effect. Dr Vijay Mallya will assume the responsibilities of Team Principal in addition to his position as Chairman, to play a greater role in the direction of the team, assisted by Robert Fernley, Director of Force India. In a reorganisation of the team’s technical department, Mark Smith, design director, and James Key, technical director, will share entire responsibility for the design of the VJM02 and future cars.
As a result of the restructure, Colin Kolles, Mike Gascoyne and Patrick Missling, formerly corporate and business director, will no longer form a direct part of the team’s design, manufacture, race and test operations.
Dr Vijay Mallya commented, ‘Force India is my most difficult project to date and it has become clear that it requires more direct input from my side and greater performance accountability. We have come a long way this season, but we need more and that requires some radical reorganisation of the management structure to ensure the maximum productivity. I would like to thank Colin Kolles for his tireless efforts in keeping such a small team alive and to Mike Gascoyne for bringing his wealth of technical expertise. Both have played an instrumental part in making the team what it is today. On Monday November 10th,I will announce the new Technical direction of the team as well as the appointment of a new Chief Operating Officer who will assume overall responsibility for our Silverstone and Brackley facilities, Race and Test operations.”
07-Nov-08: Force India Change Engine Partners and Technical Direction
Welcome to F1 Minute, it’s the 7th November.
It’s all change at Force India, as the team issued a press release today confirming that they will be ending the partnership with Ferrari. The contract was due to expire after next season, but Force India have called for it to end a year early. We are all assuming that there will be news of a McLaren engine agreement soon.
Vijay Mallya also announced that he is reorganising the team and has shuffled the management around to give himself more responsibility. The move sees both Colin Kolles and Mike Gascoyne without a job. Mallya said that Force India was the toughest project he’d ever had and having watched from the sidelines for a year, he can see he needs to be more hands on. He now takes over the Technical Director role and says: “On Monday November 10th, I will announce the new technical direction of the team as well as the appointment of a new Chief Operating Officer.”
Finally, a quick notice. As the season is now over, F1 Minute returns to it’s weekday only schedule, so have a great weekend, and I’ll be back on Monday with another F1 Minute.
18-Aug-08: Teams Expect Safety Car This Weekend
This is F1 Minute and it’s the 18th August 2008.
The build up to Valencia continues, with teams apparently expecting a safety car to enter into proceedings, and they are planning their strategies around such an eventuality.
With a new track, some close walls and the general unknowns of the street circuit, it’s not far fetched to assume that an incident might occur. Mike Gascoyne of Force India says they are hoping to make the best of any luck that is thrown their way, as it’s all the team can hope for at the moment. An interesting quote from him is: “”We may look at strategies that will put us out of sync with the others so we can take advantage of it.” What happens if there is no safety car, then they are just out of sync. Let me know your thoughts about the chances of a safety car during this weekend’s race at F1Minute.com.
To finish, I just wanted to update the Mecachrome story we covered a few days ago. It’s rumoured the engine manufacturer’s are now ending their involvement with Formula 1, after recording severe losses due to the homologation regulations.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
08-Aug-08: Gascoyne and Coulthard Discuss Their Future Ideals
You’re listening to F1 Minute for the 8th August 2008.
Two interesting takes on the future of F1 today, from Mike Gascoyne of Force India, and David Coulthard.
First up, Gascoyne has been talking about ways to make the sport cheaper as per Max Mosley’s instructions, and to help the independent teams stay in business. Here are his main ideas: “I think we need regulations like reducing testing, we shouldn’t be testing during the season, plus longer-life engines. That will reduce costs, and I don’t think anyone can argue that shouldn’t be the way we go.”
In his ITV-F1 column, Coulthard has said he thinks refuelling should be banned in races as it has made strategies predictable and the racing dull. Running a full race fuel load has been tried in the past, and Coulthard thinks that the unpredictable nature of the tyres under such a system would bring a spark of life back into Formula 1. Let me know what you think about both suggestions at F1Minute.com.
That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
06-Feb-08: Force India Team Speaks Ahead of Launch
It’s the 6th February 2008. Welcome to F1 Minute.
The new Force India car doesn’t launch until tomorrow, but several members of the team have been talking to the press in Mumbai. Giancarlo Fisichella says he is pushing for several points finishes this year, and then expects the team to be competing for podiums in 2009. Technical boss Mike Gascoyne supports this theory, although he thinks it will take a few years. He says the team have the budget to get to the top now, although they are not just throwing money around and hoping it works. Adrian Sutil has his feet firmly on the ground though, saying that he hopes for change but people should not expect too much from this first year.
With the future of the Australian Grand Prix in question at the moment, Bernie Ecclestone has brought up the old Silverstone debate as well. The track has had it’s revamp approved but Ecclestone says there are still hurdles to overcome and if the facilities were not up to scratch, he would not be sentimental about kicking it off the calendar. There is also suggestion that the revamp approval is reliant on a guaranteed future for the track, whilst the future depends on the revamp.
That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
17-Jan-08: FIA Agree Budget Caps Could Be Introduced
I’m Christine and this is F1 Minute for the 17th January 2008.
FIA President Max Mosley has written a letter to all the teams confirming that the wheels are in motion for a ruling to cap expenditure on almost everything, except for engines. A Financial Working Group is to be formed and they need to start coming up with some solid plans before June this year, otherwise the proposed and much stricter regulations will be introduced instead.
Despite persistent rumours, Toyota have denied that their sporting future is in doubt. Team Principal Tadashi Yamashina says that his previous statement about the two year deadline was misinterpreted and related to his appointment within the team rather than their entire presence in Formula 1. Toyota claim they are committed to F1 until 2012.
Mike Gascoyne has been discussing Force India’s driver lineup saying with Liuzzi in the wings the pressure is on the two main drivers to succeed. He commented that having Fisichella on board was a big step forward for the team, but his appointment beyond 2008 can only be based on performance and results.
That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
27-Nov-07: Teams, Drivers, Their Futures
Today is 27th November 2007, I’m Christine from Sidepodcast and this is F1 Minute.
All the headlines today focus on driver and team futures, starting with Ralf Schumacher’s apparent desire to get in the McLaren seat. The actual quotes appear to point to him saying it is simply a coveted seat, that’s all.
Rosberg has announced that he hopes to stay with Williams for the long haul, because he wants the challenge of bringing them back to the top again. He said he’s not going anywhere for at least another season, and hopes for more than that. He says it’s nice to be linked to McLaren and he’d like to drive with his old friend Lewis Hamilton, but for now he wants to be to Williams what Schumacher was to Ferrari.
After Coulthard’s statement yesterday that Alonso would most likely not be joining Red Bull, Webber has come out and said he’s confident about his own race seat. And Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz has confirmed that Alonso is not in their plans.
And finally, Adrian Sutil has ruled out joining another team in 2008, despite his name being linked with several opportunities around the grid. Mike Gascoyne from Force India has also spoken out, saying that the one point the team scored last year will only spur them on to try even harder in the next.
That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.