“What’s your Force India #F1 Team story?”
A question I’m asked several times over since I worked 5+ years with the team in its heydays.
So in the winter break, I invited @rsabnavis to join @iamsoumilaroraa & me on the Inside Line F1 Podcast to discuss just that - Force India.
Ravikant & I took a journey down memory lane to recollect our fondest memories of working for one of the most-iconic mid-field teams in recent times.
And of course, how was it to work with Vijay Mallya & Subrata Roy? What exactly did we do?
Here are some stories (text & photos)
What’s the story of the steering wheel?
That’s a steering wheel of one of many show cars we built in India for the Force India #F1 Team. We reverse engineered a “real” show car in a factory in Bangalore.
The show cars were used extensively in building brand experiences.
Next: the story of the ambitious “One from a Billion Hunt”
The grassroots program that nurtured the talents of @DaruvalaJehan & @ArjunMaini - India’s finest racers by a mile
It was Vijay Mallya’s dream to find an Indian driver; “Force India’s Lewis Hamilton”, as he often said
Next: Force India’s maiden pole & podium @ 2009 Belgian GP in Spa.
This was a few months before I joined but the entire team received a replica of Giancarlo Fisichella’s trophy.
#F1
Next: “Raise the Flag” - the central theme of Force India’s campaign for the inaugural “home” race - Indian GP.
The campaign saw participation from some of India’s most-known personalities through all walks of life.
Here are Deepika Padukone, Saurav Ganguly & Omar Abdullah.
#F1
Did you know?
Paris Hilton once promoted the Force India #F1 Team in the famous Bombay Times?
She posed with the team's show car for a front page photo op!
The two most-memorable campaigns were:
1. Shah Rukh Khan - probably the world's ONLY person who's face graced an #F1 car!
2. #MasterBlaster - commemorating Sachin Tendulkar's cricketing career
The conversation will be released over 3 parts - first episode on 01.04.
From my Force India 'archives' my helmet is most-cherished by my 18 month old daughter.
Here's Ravikant in the studio with Soumil & me. A BIG thanks to Soumil for playing hosting & bringing out our best memories.
Use the link in bio to tune in to the 1st episode.
#F1 #Podcast
Search for 'Inside Line F1 Podcast' in your favourite podcast streaming app - we are available on all platforms (Apple, Spotify, Google, etc.)
Dates:
Episode 1: 1st April
Episode 2: 4th April
Episode 3: 14th April
Tune in to relive the memorable Force India #F1 Team!
Kunal Shah
@kunalashah
Tweets: F1, Jr. driver advisor, FIA-accr. TV-print journo, #F1 TV pundit: Viaplay,🎙Founder @insidelinef1pod (global rank: top 1%), prev: Force India F1 Team