Force India honchos have Jordan on their minds

A decade ago, in 1999, the Jordan team punched well above their weight by finishing third in the championship and winning races while bringing a renegade, rock’n’roll attitude to the sport.

The Silverstone-based team then slid into decline, were sold to Russian-born Canadian billionaire Alex Shnaider in 2005 and renamed Midland before being passed on to Dutch sportscar maker Spyker.

Mallya, a liquor and airline billionaire known in India as ‘The King of Good Times’, took over last year with Dutch entrepreneur Michiel Mol and Force India were created.

“There is a good old English saying which holds that history repeats itself,” Mallya said during last week’s final pre-season test in Barcelona. “Jordan was a winning team in 1999, there’s no reason why it can’t go back to its winning ways in 2009.”

Formula One regulations are changing next year, which cou ld level the field considerably, but it will still take some doing for a team that scored only a point as Spyker last year.

Mallya, who has said he wants Force India to be on the podium when New Delhi hosts a Formula One race in 2010, recognises the obstacles but expects results.

He said the Ferrari-powered team should at least aim to get through to the second phase of qualifying this season and be reliable.

“With the right kind of direction, motivation and of course the right kind of resources — both engineering as well as financial —we are already showing improvement,” he said.

“I am a firm believer that money cannot buy performance so I don’t necessarily subscribe to having a big budget and then taking it for granted that you will succeed,” added the former Toyota sponsor. I know of many teams with big budgets that are not entirely successful. Having said that, 2009 presents us with a unique opportunity.”