“A lot of people talked to Aston Martin and a lot of people talked to Renault, and there is still no movement on either of them really”.
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Reports out of England say that the Force India team could soon see its name change to Aston Martin Racing thanks to a partnership with the British automaker.
Mallya said the plan was to continue running the team under the Indian flag and confirmed he has no reservations about dropping the Force India name.
News broke over the Mexican Grand Prix weekend that Force India could be considering a surprising change of direction next year having opened talks with the British sportscar manufacturer which could well see the iconic firm enter F1 in a branding capacity.
And the claim that Aston Martin could now broker a deal with Force India for 2016 is unlikely to do little to improve the mood at Red Bull given their failure to negotiate an engine partner beyond this season.
Johnnie Walker are owned by Diageo, who are majority shareholders in Mallya’s United Spirits Limited and several of their liquor brands are already visible on the Force India cars. It is reported that Johnnie Walker are to end their 10-year association with McLaren at the end of the season. “That sort of premium-ness element forms the package”.
The rebranded auto will reportedly have blue and gold livery to reflect Johnnie Walker’s blue and gold labels.
If the deal does go through, it will be the first time in more than 50 years that the Aston Martin brand will be used in Formula One.
“Discussions have progressed substantially since”, said Mallya.
We’ll peg this one at 50/50 if it happens or not, but don’t be surprised if it does. I have a job to do in terms of getting us back into the conversation amongst people that cross-shop sportscars, be it McLaren, be it Ferrari or Porsche.
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“But to get into Formula One, that’s serious money that I don’t have”.
