Some recent report prior to pre-season testing suggested that Sahara was looking to exit their partnership with the Sahara Force India. The team’s recent appearance at pre-season testing reignited the discussion, as the team logo was attached to the drivers’ race suits on a patch that was stitched to the uniform. Does this mean that Force India are preparing for Sahara to leave them?
Sahara India Pariwar is an India based conglomerate. The company purchased over 42.5% of the Force India Formula One Team near the end of the 2011 season, meaning that the owned as many stakes as Vijay Mallya. This led to the rebrand of the team, to feature Sahara in the team’s name.
Over the winter break, there was speculation about whether Sahara was looking to leave Formula One. However, when they arrived in Barcelona, their team equipment was still wearing the Sahara name. If you look at the team uniforms, you see that the main team logo has been patched to the fire suits for the drivers’, leading many to believe that this was done so that the team can rebrand without the added expense of ordering new fire suits.
A spokesperson for the Sahara Force India Formula One Team denied this speculation, telling Racing Clothesline:
“The patched Force India logo was a temporary solution as this space was always reserved for Smirnoff branding, which will be introduced on the suits going forward.”
Of course, this doesn’t confirm that the relationship between Sahara and Force India will hold together for the season. Racing Clothesline reached out to both Force India and Sahara, but neither company was willing to comment on their current sponsorship situation. It’s possible that the company may leave the team, but there no visual signs to confirm that they will do so in the near future.
