We’re a new book, not new chapter in F1: Racing Point
TORONTO: Racing Point have put the cash-starved Force India days behind and now have the resources to show Formula 1 what they can really do, the Canadianowned team said on Wednesday.
Technical director Andrew Green told a livery launch, where Kenyan betting company SportPesa was announced as new title sponsors, that the buzz at the factory since the change of ownership was incredible. “The investment that’s in the team is absolutely unprecedented, there’s a real sense of we can show people what we can really do now. They have given us the tools to be able to move forward. It’s not a new chapter in the history of this team, we’re a new book now,” he said. “We’re all eager to prove that we can do more. If you give us a little bit more, we can do a lot more. Over the coming months you’ll see the team grow and develop and the performance of the car will increase at quite a dramatic rate.”
Force India went into administration in July 2018 with only 240,000 pounds to their credit while outstanding gross wages due at the end of that month totalled 2.2 million. Bankers Santander had already frozen the company’s accounts, a report by the administrators later said. There were also significant debts, including 13.7 million to engine providers Mercedes alone. GUWAHATI: Controversy erupted at the Senior National Badminton Championships on Thursday with defending champion Saina Nehwal refusing to play, citing ‘poor playing surface’ at the venue here.
Saina, who had suffered a shin injury late last year, took the court after Sameer Verma conceded his men’s singles tie following an Achilles’ heel problem. Up against Shruti Mundada in prequarters, Saina had a look at the surface and immediately made it clear that she won’t risk playing on it given that the All England Open was around the corner.
Badminton Association of India (BAI) officials swung into action to sort out the issue. They later convinced Saina, P Kashyap and B Sai Praneeth to play in the evening. “The wooden planks came out at a couple of places after Sindhu played. So they are now going to fix it. We’ll come back in the evening to play our pre-quarterfinals,” Saina’s husband Kashyap said.
The tournament is being played on three courts at the Assam Badminton Academy.
Kashyap, who was also there to play his men’s singles pre-quarterfinal, went to the adjacent court and inspected it too along with Saina.
BAI secretary (event) Omar Rashid said they will fix the courts and also make arrangements in the cement courts at the Tarun Ram Phookan indoor stadium. “The surface became uneven at a couple of places, so three players have refused to play. We will fix the problem here and also make arrangements in the indoor stadium,” Rashid said.