Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

Eddie Jordan was unlike any team principal Formula 1 had ever seen. A fast-talking Dublin-born former bank clerk turned racing driver turned team owner, Jordan combined genuine business acumen with a showmanship that made him one of the most entertaining figures in the paddock. Jordan Grand Prix entered Formula 1 in 1991 with a beautiful car — the Jordan 191, designed by Gary Anderson, was widely considered the most aesthetically pleasing car on the grid — and immediately made an impact by giving a young German sports car driver named Michael Schumacher his F1 debut at Spa-Francorchamps. Schumacher qualified seventh, stunning the paddock, but was poached by Benetton after a single race in what remains one of the most controversial driver moves in F1 history.

The 1990s saw Jordan establish itself as the best of the independent teams, consistently punching above its weight with a combination of clever engineering, Jordan's dealmaking skills, and a succession of talented drivers. Rubens Barrichello, Eddie Irvine, Ralf Schumacher, and Damon Hill all drove for the team, and the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix produced Jordan's crowning moment: a one-two finish in the rain at Spa, with Damon Hill leading home Ralf Schumacher. Hill's victory — the team's first — reduced Eddie Jordan to tears on the pit wall. The 1999 season was even better, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen winning two races and challenging for the championship before a run of bad luck derailed his title bid.

But the economics of F1 were becoming increasingly hostile to independent teams. The early 2000s brought declining results and mounting financial pressures, and Jordan's famous charm could not indefinitely paper over the cracks. The team was sold to the Midland Group at the end of 2004, bringing the curtain down on one of the most colorful eras in the sport's history. Eddie Jordan moved into media, becoming a beloved television pundit, while the Silverstone operation he built continued under new ownership.

The post-Jordan years were defined by a dizzying carousel of ownership changes. The Midland Group's tenure lasted just two seasons before the team was sold to the Dutch sports car manufacturer Spyker in 2006, who in turn sold it to Indian businessman Vijay Mallya in 2007. Mallya rebranded the team as Force India — a name that initially drew skepticism but would come to represent one of the great overachievement stories in modern F1.

Force India, operating on one of the smallest budgets on the grid, consistently delivered results that defied their financial limitations. The partnership with Mercedes engines provided a competitive power unit, while the technical team at Silverstone — led by aerodynamicist Andy Green and technical director Andrew Green — extracted remarkable performance from limited resources. Adrian Sutil's strong performances in the late 2000s gave way to the emergence of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg, both of whom used Force India as a platform to showcase their talents. The team's finest hour came in the 2016 and 2017 seasons, when they finished fourth in the constructors' championship both years — an extraordinary achievement for a team spending a fraction of what their rivals invested.

But Vijay Mallya's legal troubles in India, where he faced fraud charges related to his collapsed Kingfisher Airlines empire, cast a long shadow over the team. By 2018, Force India was in administration, its future uncertain. A consortium led by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll — father of driver Lance Stroll — stepped in to purchase the team's assets, reconstituting it as Racing Point Force India for the remainder of 2018. The Silverstone operation had survived yet another near-death experience, but this time, the new owner had ambitions far grander than mere survival.

Under Lawrence Stroll's ownership, the team was rebranded as Racing Point for 2019 and immediately benefited from increased investment. Lance Stroll was installed alongside Sergio Perez, and the team began its transformation from plucky midfielder to genuine contender. The 2020 season, however, thrust Racing Point into the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

The RP20 — nicknamed the "Pink Mercedes" by rivals and media alike — bore such a striking resemblance to the championship-winning 2019 Mercedes W10 that Renault lodged a formal protest. The FIA upheld the complaint in part, finding that Racing Point had illegally copied the design of Mercedes' rear brake ducts, and the team was fined and docked constructors' championship points. The controversy did not prevent the car from being quick, however: Sergio Perez won a sensational maiden victory at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain, fighting from last place after a first-lap incident to take one of the most popular wins in years. It would prove to be Perez's farewell gift — he was released at the end of the season to make room for a four-time world champion.

The Racing Point chapter was brief but consequential. It demonstrated both the potential and the growing pains of Stroll's ambitious project, and it set the stage for the most dramatic rebranding in the team's long history.