Force India's Rebranding To Aston Martin Not Expected For 2016 Season

Force India COO Otmar Szafnauer said that the F1 team is "unlikely to have Aston Martin branding this season but talks have not been abandoned entirely," according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. He said, "We're still discussing. In the short term, meaning 2016, I don't see that type of rebranding happening. But you never know what the future holds thereafter." Force India's co-Owner and Principal Vijay Mallya, the liquor baron, said last October that the team was "discussing a potential three-way deal involving the British sports car marque and whisky brand Johnny Walker." The agreement "would have seen the British-based team transformed in name and look to feature the Aston Martin branding." Szafnauer said that F1 "had an appeal to Aston Martin but more with an eye for the future." He said, "If it now happens in the long term, is there disappointment? Probably not" (REUTERS, 1/14).