Force India Turmoil

The old Jordan team has certainly gone through some changes in the past few years. But Force India now has a proper budget and have showed major progress in the 2008 season. Sure, they were the only team to not score points, but Adrian Sutil's outstanding performance in Monaco had him headed for a 4th place finish until the Kimster ended his race. And at the last race their qualifying pace was less than a second and a half off that of the Ferrari.

For the first time in three seasons, the team has the same owner and presumably the same driver lineup for the coming year. So, with all the good this stability brings, what is Vijay Mallya doing? Corporate and business director Patrick Missling is out of a job, Colin Kolles and Mike Gascoyne are gone, and the Mercedes powertrain replaces the proven Ferrari unit next year. Red Bull's troubles in 2007 and 2008 have shown that reliable powertrain integration is not something that comes easy. Mike Gascoyne's technical ability has never been in question, either.

However, it just might be that Mallya is ahead of the curve on this one. Citing a need for "radical reorganisation of the management structure to ensure the maximum productivity", one could assume that Gascoyne, while very talented, may not be the easiest person to work with - just ask Toyota. With the radical rule changes for next season, now may be the best time for a big shakeup. And Force India are sure to receive more technical help from Mercedes than from Ferrari, minimizing the difficulty in transitioning to a new powerplant.

We can still expect the team to be at the back of the grid next year, but with an even steeper learning curve than that of the 2008 season. 2010 should be very interesting...