Force India enters the Formula One championship.

(click on images to enlarge.)

Today in Mumbai, India, was presented the VJM01, the first version of the Force India Formula One team race car.

Vijay Mallya, an Indian billionnaire and owner of the Force India F1 team, is very proud to be a part of the Formula One championship. The car as for it's technical aspects, is identical to the Spyker F1 race car that was competing on the circuit last season. The only difference is that the overall team budget increased from $70 Millions of last year to $120 Millions for the upcoming season.

A white base with gold sections are the main colors of the Force India F1 team race car. The main sponsor, Kingfisher, is an Indian airline company and a popular beer brand in India. Both of those companies are the property of Mr. Mallya himself.

Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil will be the drivers for this next season while Vitantonio Liuzzi will act as the third driver for Force India. Both Fisichella and Sutil don't expect to rake in points at every grand prix.

Those drivers were chosen to help with the evolution of the car. The team's engineers need to learn more about the car in order to make it evolve in the right direction and according to Mr. Mallya those two drivers were carefully picked and were the best drivers available for the team.

The main objective for Vijay Mallya is to have a competitive car when India will host it's first grand prix in it's history in 2010. Mr. Mallya is also conscious that many Indians will follow the team's progression but they will have to be patient and shouldn't expect great results right off the bat.

(Pictures: The VJM01, Force India F1.)