Force India strengthens its technical staff

Force India has undergone a restructuring of its technical staff with the appointment of Mark Smith, the former technician from Red Bull, and Ian Hall, who comes from Toyota.

Smith wanted to reunite with Mike Gascoyne and his working style since the two men had previously collaborated at Jordan and also with the French team Renault. Smith’s journey then came to a halt at Red Bull, where difficulties piled up, especially after the arrival of Geoff Willis.

He has now been appointed design director, where he will work under the orders of Gascoyne and James Key.

As for Hall, he will join the team as the project manager for the 2009 single-seater cars. He will work at the same level as Akio Haga, who is in charge of promoting the 2008 cars. Both men will report directly to Smith.

Gascoyne said: « It’s wonderful to see Mark, Ian, and myself reunited in one team again, especially since our collaboration was instrumental in the success of the Jordan team in 1999. »

I have worked with both since, with Mark at Renault and Ian at Toyota, and I am sure they will fit seamlessly into the new structure.

I think we have a good structure at the management level and I look forward to being able to establish a real opposition with the teams in front of us on the grid.

Key added: « It’s very positive to have Mark and Ian with us. I have very fond memories of them from the Jordan era. »

« I think at the time we worked together as best as possible to quickly improve the car’s performance and to this day I am eager to see the fruits of our future collaboration on the track. I can’t wait to start developing the 2009 car, » he concluded.