Hi-tech motor home for Force India

SILVERSTONE - The Force India team has refurbished its motor home into a luxurious 350-metre, three-storey structure that will make its debut at the Formula One circuit in the Turkish Grand Prix at the end of this month.

In keeping with the reputation of its team principal, Vijay Mallya, who is known for his high hospitality standards, Force India has gone hi-tech in renovating its headquarters here.

With the flyaway races done with, the Formula One series returns to Europe with three races scheduled for this month - Spain (May 7-9), Monaco (May 13-16) and Turkey (May 28-30).

Force India, now in its third Formula One season, has gone to considerable lengths to build the steel and glass structure. The renovated ground floor will be for guests and media where, after stepping through a touch activated sliding door mechanism, visitors are greeted by a new welcome desk with computerised guest lists that will even - when the person says their name — recognise what their preference of drink is!

The floor will have customized furnishings with a mix of white, green and orange curved ergonomic tables and chairs. A fully integrated bar area with flat screen TVs will also be available for visitors. A “chill out” area gives guests space to read newspapers or team updates.

“The floor has been re-laid with a wood laminate to make it more durable but also more in keeping with the cooler decoration, the electrics completely rewired and the air conditioning units replaced so the whole area stays cool,” said team manager Andy Stevenson.

The two upper floors are reserved for the team members, drivers (Vitantonio Liuzzi and Adrian Sutil), marketing staff and Mallya’s personal guests with a roof top facility that has space for an office, reception desk and a separate area offering a panoramic view.

The whole structure weighs more than 40 tonnes and will take 10 people up to three days to construct, according to a team press release.