The Force be with who?

Vijay MallyaChairman and Managing DirectorTook over the reins of the United Breweries Group in 1983 at the age of 28 and has, since then, st...

Vijay Mallya
Chairman and Managing Director
Took over the reins of the United Breweries Group in 1983 at the age of 28 and has, since then, steered the UB Group to a multinational conglomerate. A member of parliament, he is the face of the Force India F1. A rally driver in his younger days, he has invested in Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, apart from recently acquiring the Bangalore IPL franchise.

Michiel Mol
Co-owner
Dutch businessman and co-owner of the Force India team, Mol graduated in Computer Science before setting up his own software company in 1993. Later, he led a group of investors that put together a deal to buy into Spyker cars and take over the Midland F1 team. In September 2006, Mol was appointed F1 Director of Spyker for four years. On August 14, 2007, Mol left Spyker Cars as CEO amid speculation that it would be separated from Spyker F1 due to financial issues. Vijay Mallya purchased Spyker F1 in 2007 and renamed it Force India.

Colin Kolles,
Team Principal
Colin began his motorsport career in rallying in 1985, but changed his career path to work as an assistant dentist in Ingolstadt, Germany. He later established his own dental practice before becoming reacquainted with the sport in 2000 when he co-founded a Formula 3 team. In 2004, he and Alex Shnaider worked together to take the initial steps to create the Midland F1 team, leading to Colin8217;s appointment as managing director and team principal in 2005 after Midland8217;s purchase of the team. Colin continued in this role in the Spyker team and is now the team principal for Force India.

Mike Gascoyne
Chief Technical Officer
Came on board McLaren in 1989 as a wind tunnel aerodynamicist, but left the following year to join Tyrell. Worked with Jordan, Benneton, Sauber and Renault in the following years. Moved to Toyota in 2003, but was suspended in 2006 due to 8220;fundamental difference of opinion with regard to the technical operations8221;, according to the statement put forward by the company. He took up the position of chief technology officer with Spyker in November of that year, and is continuing with Force India in the same capacity. With a salary of 8 million a year, Gascoyne is the highest paid engineer in Formula One.

Giancarlo Fisichella
Driver
Beginning as a driver in the Italian Formula Three series in 1992, Fisichella won the championship with the RC Motorsport team in 1994. After joining Formula One with Minardi in 1996, the 25-year-old Italian has driven for Renault Sauber, Jordan and Benneton before being signed up by Force India for the 2008 season. Fisichella has won three races to date 8212; the Brazilian GP in 2003, Melbourne in 2005, and Malaysia in 2006. Fisichella owns his own GP2 racing team 8212; FMS International.

Adrian Sutil
Driver
Sutil could have been a pianist, but chose the steering wheel instead. Began racing with Swiss Formula Ford 1800 in 2002, winning all ten rounds of the season from pole position. Raced with Formula BMW and in the Formula Three Euroseries before his 2005 stint with A1 Team Germany in the inaugural A1GP series. Joined Formula One in 2006 as a test driver with Midland F1, and was promoted to second driver for the 2007 season. Signed up with Force India for the 2008 season.

Vitantonio Liuzzi
Test driver
Like all drivers, karting was Liuzzi8217;s first step in racing, and in 2001, he defeated future seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher to clinch the Karting World Championship. Joined Red Bull Racing as a test driver in 2005 to begin his Formula One journey. The 28-year-old was linked with a test drive role with Williams before he signed up for Force India in 2008.