Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsForce India

Hype extends Force India sponsorship for 2016

Force India has announced the extension of its sponsorship deal with Hype Energy drinks for the 2016 season.

Hype became one of the team's partners in 2015 and its branding appeared on the rear wing of the VJM08 at last year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - an event where fans had been able to win a trip to the race. This season Hype branding will be located on the cockpit of the VJM09, the inside of the rear wing end plate, as well as on the drivers’ race suits.

Learn more: Hype Energy website

With Hype promising "a busy activation program" involving F1 fans, team principal Vijay Mallya says it is a brand which matches with Force India's approach to the sport.

“Hype Energy is one of those exciting brands that fits perfectly with Formula One," Mallya said. "We enjoy working with them and it’s great to see the brand going from strength to strength with the introduction of new products. With their support last year we enjoyed our best ever season, so I’m delighted that we have expanded the partnership for 2016 and look forward to further shared success.”

Bertrand Gachot, CEO of Hype Energy Drinks, says the partnership is a strong one for him having previously raced for the team when it was known as Jordan.

“We’re extremely pleased and excited to continue our partnership with Sahara Force India," Gachot said. "Last year, thanks to the great successes of the team, the Hype brand enjoyed huge growth and strengthened its global position in the functional drinks category.

"I enjoy working with this team and from a personal perspective it’s a natural choice: I was involved with the team since its creation in 1990 and raced for them in 1991. Now as a sponsor, I’m proud to still work with some of the same people as I did as a racing driver. I have immense faith in them. I would also like to thank Vijay for making this possible and Otmar [Szafnauer] for his great strategic work.”

Force India recently announced it will unveil its 2016 car on the morning of the opening day of testing in Barcelona.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.