Force India have added a message celebrating India’s Cricket World Cup triumph to their car.
Here are more pictures of what the drivers and teams have been up to since arriving in Malaysia.
F1 pictures
- 2023 Spanish Grand Prix in pictures
- 2023 Spanish Grand Prix qualifying day in pictures
- 2023 Spanish Grand Prix practice in pictures
- First pictures from the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix weekend
- 2023 Monaco Grand Prix in pictures
- 2023 Monaco Grand Prix qualifying day in pictures
- F1 drivers pay tribute to family, motorsport greats – and Pac-Man
- 2023 Monaco Grand Prix practice in pictures
- First pictures from the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix weekend
- 2023 Miami Grand Prix in pictures
Images ?é?® Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo, Renault/LAT, Getty Images/Red Bull, Force India F1 Team
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
7th April 2011, 12:15
Ugh, cricket. A sport I’ll never understand.
Henry
7th April 2011, 12:20
Its a fantastic sport. tactical to the extreme, much like F1, a true team sport (less so like f1!) and requiring great skill. I dont know if you have ever watched much live cricket (I have not watched a huge amount, but enough) it really does end up captivating you, I promise. Give it a go!
RIISE (@riise)
7th April 2011, 12:31
The only form of Cricket I like is 20/20. It’s such a dire sport though when it goes over 50 overs….
On a side note am I the only one who hates the look of the Force India from the onboard shots? Then again the whole livery is awful…
Fixy (@)
7th April 2011, 13:46
I preferred yhe 2010 one to be honest.
Henry
7th April 2011, 15:03
Thats like saying all F1 races should be 20 laps long, any longer and its dire! or even better, simply an hour long qualifying session and whoever posts the highest time wins! It removes any element of tactics from the sport…give cricket one more chance, watch a match in its entirety and enjoy it!
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
7th April 2011, 12:31
It’s the only sport I watch other than F1. Also, more of that rain would be nice on Sunday! :P
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
7th April 2011, 12:39
Hey, nice article re:the Aus GP Damon. Good to see what some of you finally look like. Ummm… Geoffrey looks about like what I imagined. :P
Ads21 (@ads21)
7th April 2011, 13:30
I’m with Damon, Cricket is awesome. There really is nothing better outside F1 than following the ebbs and flows of a 5 day test match. For me no other sporting series or event will ever be more perfect than the 2005 Ashes.
And congratulations to India, fully deserved to win the World Cup.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
7th April 2011, 12:34
I think you almost have to be raised on it to really appreciate it. Cricket is one I don’t think I get either.
ajokay (@)
7th April 2011, 14:10
Me either. A game that can go on for 5 weeks and still not have a winner is completely befuddling to me.
cyanide (@cyanide)
7th April 2011, 14:38
5 days, not 5 weeks lol.
ajokay (@)
7th April 2011, 15:23
There was some series last year, maybe the year before. England were playing… I say series, it was one game but played over a best of 5. 5, 5-day games were played, over 5 weeks, and there still wasn’t an overall winner. Very silly.
jsw11984 (@jarred-walmsley)
7th April 2011, 20:16
No different than football or rugby, they can easily have a tied match as well.
Chalky
7th April 2011, 16:30
It helps if you have a chance to play it. I never realised how fast the ball actually would go when I first went into bat when I played at school. Luckily the bowler was not aiming direct at the stumps or I’d be out for a duck. Once you appreciate the skill involved the whole game comes alive. Unfortunately the ECB is ruining the game in England by pushing all the TV coverage off to the highest bidder (Sky). Lack of terrestrial TV time does not encourage youngsters to take up the sport. I got to play at school when I was younger and I could watch the test matches throughout my summer holidays on TV. How the ECB encourages kids to pick up the game now is beyond me?
Icthyes (@icthyes)
7th April 2011, 17:22
It doesn’t necessarily follow. It’s much harder to hit the ball in baseball but I still see many cricket fans deride it.
Some things are just more exciting to look at, cricket tends not to be one of them. I think it has something to do with not moving most of the time.
MacademiaNut
8th April 2011, 1:45
Yep. The scoreboard is moving all the time in cricket, unlike baseball.
verstappen
7th April 2011, 18:14
It’s probably the same with all sports. I don’t like tour de france, but when I hear a colleague tell about, passionately, I can understand that if you’re a follower it’s actually fun to watch.
Time constraints however prevent me from following any other sport than F1 (OK and a bit of GP2).
Ninad
7th April 2011, 14:39
And they play 5 days just to end the game in a tie.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
7th April 2011, 17:18
Baseball is far superior.
That was a joke.
MattHT (@mattht)
7th April 2011, 12:23
It’s difficult to convert people that don’t like cricket to like it, and i can understand that, but personally I love it, so congratulations to India, and a nice gesture by Force India :)
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
7th April 2011, 12:48
It’s not that I don’t like it. Like PM said, I just don’t understand it.
Do you understand American football or baseball?
I think that what we’re saying is that we might like if we could understand it.
phildick (@phildick)
7th April 2011, 13:10
That’s right.
Little off topic… Last year I had a nasty illness and had to lie in bed, and couldn’t really do much more than watch TV. Fortunately I had ESPN America on my cable (not that usual in Poland) and I started watching American football while reading Wikipedia articles about the game rules.
Not that I became a great fan of the game, but it was very interesting to get to know the rules, the tactics, I started to appreciate the effort of the players.
Unfortunately there’s probably no cricket coverage in Poland, so I may never have the chance to understand this one ;)
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
7th April 2011, 22:22
Knew you would have something to say about all the cricket bashing!
I can watch it, but I don’t follow it.
And yep, nice gesture. HRT should do the same.
Sound_Of_Madness
7th April 2011, 12:24
A bit of an ill-fated attempt to play the role of the “Indian F1 Team”?
cyanide (@cyanide)
7th April 2011, 12:35
The team’s got “India” in its name. It’s got an Indian team owner. I think Mallya can be allowed to show his patriotic side a little. You’d probably understand better if you were Indian ;)
Sound_Of_Madness
7th April 2011, 13:15
Quite possibly, but still something of a marketing ploy ;)
ajokay (@)
7th April 2011, 14:15
Strip off all that orange and green paint… there’s a yellow and black hornet underneath
Burnout (@burnout)
7th April 2011, 15:48
BE..ON..EDGE. Heh
phildick (@phildick)
7th April 2011, 13:15
or a Hindu… ;)
RIISE (@riise)
7th April 2011, 13:18
Well yeah he’s just being patriotic, there’s nothing else too it really. Cricket is a big thing over there.
topdowntoedown (@topdowntoedown)
7th April 2011, 14:02
Not forgetting of course that Mallya actually owns an IPL cricket team… and the 2011 IPL kicks off in the next week or so :D
RIISE (@riise)
7th April 2011, 14:11
Ahhhh….I take it all back.
Dipak T
7th April 2011, 20:31
I think last season he had suspended a 2009 Force India chassis in the stands in the Bangalore stadium and lit it up with spotlights! So you have to hand it to him, he is promoting F1 in quite a grand way in India, putting a car pride of place on national tv coverage with a significat national audience.
Nixon
7th April 2011, 12:26
Nice pics Kieth, although i am still waiting for the “Shiny golden suits”.
mcmercslr (@mcmercslr)
7th April 2011, 12:30
Any pics of any pirellis? Apparently they have stripes now like last years bridgestones
Connie
7th April 2011, 13:08
Yeah it looks like they put a gold stripe on the softs according to autosport. But it’s temporary, they will change it back using stronger colours for the European races.
Jeff
7th April 2011, 12:42
what’s cricket….
Ninad
7th April 2011, 12:59
Its an insect- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_(insect)
Hari
7th April 2011, 17:32
lol! i am an indian and a hardcore fan of cricket(and f1, of course)! that totally dumbfounded me!
Ninad
7th April 2011, 12:58
It will be interesting watch out turnout for INDIAN GP later this year. Most of Indians being Cricket lovers and F1 being totally different kind of sport to them. Plus lack of F1 success among Indian drivers and teams will be a huge negative point, as most of Indians are glory hunters.
But still there are some die hard F1 fans in India.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
7th April 2011, 13:13
Yeah, I think it was a clever idea on the part of Force India.
It cost them absolutely nothing to do it and I think that by doing it, they will bring a bit more attention to F1 in India.
Williams4Ever
7th April 2011, 18:11
@Ninad – Given the large number of Indian fans I have seen travel to races in Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Middle-East. There will be enough Indian presence in the grand-stand.
Just like elsewhere, the local media, corporate drum up the event locally and have contests with give-away tickets etc, so one should not worry too much I guess.
And then Bernie always sells this “Sports Tourism” to Local Race Promoters/Governments, so shouldn’t there be F1 fans traveling Delhi to attend the event :-?
Given that there are talks about Driving on race-day is part of Chandok’s contract with Tony-Lotus, there should be two Indian drivers on the grid. And while they are not the Alonsos or Hamiltons, they are not shabby given the quality of cars they have driven in F1 so where’s the lack of success of drivers factors in?
F1 goes to Malaysia which has produced only one F1 driver to date and Singapore/China/Bahrain/Abu Dhabi/Turkey has no driver in F1, Still there is enough local presence in Grand stands, obviously not having full grandstands has got to do with the Hefty ticket prices (that Bernie mandates), but then Bernie cares for TV coverage and if that is not shabby where is the problem?
So why so much gloom and doom Ninad?
Having worked with someone with same name, I know the part of the world you are from and expected to be more enthusiastic about the Indian GP…
Ninad
7th April 2011, 18:21
Well I know Indians well so I can tell you one thing they will not be buying a costly F1 ticket. But if its a give-away then all of them will be there.
ed24f1 (@ed24f1)
7th April 2011, 18:21
Well for the Indian GP to get an equivalent per capita race day crowd to Australia, they need to get something like 5.75 million through the gates!
ankit
7th April 2011, 13:27
the force india looks awesome and most beautiful
Steve
7th April 2011, 13:59
Alonso looks very relaxed this year.
Burnout (@burnout)
7th April 2011, 14:49
Yeah, especially in the last picture. You’d think he was at a spa, not a race track!
-A-
7th April 2011, 15:18
Here’s a first look at Renault’s “races in hot areas” overalls, provided by Nick Heidfeld via his Facebook profile:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=216180055064219
RIISE (@riise)
7th April 2011, 18:44
Why am I underwhelmed?…I think it’s the lack of glitter.
Polishboy808 (@polishboy808)
8th April 2011, 2:52
I think it looks awesome! Best looking car/overall combo on the grid :D
F1Yankee (@f1yankee)
7th April 2011, 16:57
i concede some things are just plain incomprehensible.
F1Yankee (@f1yankee)
7th April 2011, 18:38
i believe damn near every sport is played in the states. we have aus rules football, rugby, curling, competitive basketweaving, and even cricket.
http://usaca.org/
MadF1
7th April 2011, 19:54
That’s nice gesture from FI.
People in India love cricket, or shall I say that its more like a religion here. So, it seems F1 has a battle in front to get a firm foot in India :)
Jokes apart. Can’t wait for inaugural Indian GP this year. I am quite sure it will be house full.
AJ
7th April 2011, 21:37
Cricket is one of the team sports where you have the platform to shine individually. Ie, Brian Lara, legend of the game who batted for nearly 2.5 days against England ina test, yet the rest of the team was generally poop.
I seem to end up nearly watching all sports including american ones, even though their prerequisites involve being fast, explosive and 200+ lbs