Delving into the Force India livery that never raced in F1

The Force India F1 team raced in Formula 1 for a decade. Indian billionaire, Dr. Vijay Mallya acquired the Spykar F1 outfit at the end of 2007 and renamed it Force India. The team ran under the Indian tricolor albeit still from the Silverstone base where Eddie Jordan started his own team. Force India became popular on the grid for its iconic tricolor livery in association with its title sponsor Sahara.

However, the team shifted to a silver and black design in 2015. Subsequently, when Force India unveiled its challenger for the new 2017 F1 regulations, it was in a similar paint scheme. The VJM10 was launched at a major event held by the Silverstone-based team and the car donned a prominently silver design. The new car looked monstrous with the team’s unique take on the front-nose design.

The VJM10 would take part in pre-season testing with this livery. Many fans appreciated this design when it hit the track running in Barcelona. Although, a few believed it to be a downgrade from the team’s previous liveries. Nonetheless, it was a bold design that certainly was a rather evolved version of the team’s colors. Esteban Ocon‘s initial red helmet too further complimented the overall aesthetic.

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The VJM10 was painted pink after BWT’s title sponsorship

Though, things would soon change. Force India signed Austria’s Best Water Technology as its title sponsor just a couple of weeks before the season opener. Consequently, the team switched to a radical pink livery for the 2017 season as part of the sponsorship arrangement. Even changing the overalls for Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez. Thus, this silver livery would never see the chequered flag. The silver VJM10 becomes a part of a long list of liveries that never raced in F1.

Force India would continue its deal with BWT even after the team’s acquisition by Lawrence Stroll. Hence, this silver livery design never got to see the light of day again. Eventually, the BWT deal would collapse after Aston Martin’s involvement in the team. The Austrian water giant would sponsor the Alpine F1 team after Otmar Szaufnauer’s switch as Team Principal to the French F1 team.

Alas, Force India is no longer on the F1 grid. The Indian team’s colors had become iconic, first the tricolor and then the pink BWT designs. Unfortunately, fans never saw the VJM10 in silver. Though, many have only come to appreciate its design a few years after its debut. Of course, the pink liveries became a prominent face of the team, but there’s nothing as appealing as the colors of the team itself, rather than that of a sponsor.

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