‘Force India to be rebranded as Aston Martin’

The name Aston Martin is set to return to F1 next season, with a report claiming Force India are to be rebranded as Aston Martin Racing.

The British sportscar manufacturer had a brief stint in Formula 1 during the 1959 season as they competed in four races and returned for another two grands prix in 1960 before exiting the sport.

Earlier this year there were talks that they were on the verge of a comeback and in talks with Red Bull with the team set to run Mercedes engines, but nothing came of it and it later emerged they had discussions with Force India and Williams as well.

It now seems they are close to signing a deal with Force India with Autosport reporting “Aston Martin wants to have a presence in F1 to take on sportscar rivals McLaren and Ferrari on track as well as off”.

Mercedes, which owns a five percent stake in Aston Martin, has already given the deal the go-ahead and Force India will race as Aston Martin Racing in 2016 while their livery will change to blue and gold.

“If tomorrow someone comes and offers me a good sum of money for title sponsorship, I’ll seek the team name,” Force India team principal Vijay Mallya told Autosport.

“If the marque comes along and I have to change the team name, I have to look at what it does for the team in terms of profile.

“It’s premature to talk about it now, but we’re talking.

“Nothing is done until it’s done. I don’t like to count my chickens until they are hatched.”

Although there is still no official word from the Force India and Aston Martin camps, a spokesperson for the Silverstone-based company says their “future remains very bright”.

“We continue to have a number of discussions about 2016 and beyond with both our current and new partners who see a commercial value in a relationship with Force India,” he said.

“When the time is right we will make suitable announcements in conjunction with our commercial partners. The future remains very bright for the team.”