The origins of Racing Point lie with the Jordan Grand Prix team, which debuted in 1991. Jordan experienced moderate success in the late 1990s and early 2000s, achieving two race victories and finishing 3rd in the 1999 World Constructors' Championship. The team was sold to the Midland Group in 2005 and renamed Midland F1 Racing for the 2006 season, but remained unsuccessful, failing to score any points. Midland F1 was then sold to Spyker Cars late in the season, becoming Spyker F1 in 2007, and subsequently to Indian businessman Vijay Mallya after another season of limited improvement, scoring its first point in over two years at the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix.
The Silverstone)-based team was renamed Force India for the 2008 season, marking its fourth identity in four years. Force India saw moderate success over the next decade, achieving a pole position at the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix and six podium places. The team finished 4th in the World Constructors' Championship in both 2016 and 2017. During the 2018 season, financial and legal troubles led to the team being placed into administration. The assets were purchased by Racing Point UK, a consortium led by Canadian businessman Lawrence Stroll, though the original Formula One entry dating back to 1991 was effectively ended. The team was renamed Racing Point Force India for the remainder of 2018.
For the 2019 season, the team became Racing Point, with Lance Stroll and Sergio Pérez confirmed as drivers in November 2018. The team was also branded as "SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team" due to sponsorship from SportPesa. The Racing Point RP19 scored points at the first four races, with Stroll and Pérez finishing 6th and 9th respectively at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. After a mid-season slump, the team brought significant upgrades ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, leading to improved performance. Pérez scored points in all but one of the following nine races, finishing 7th in the World Constructors' Championship with 73 points.
The 2020 season saw Stroll re-signed and Pérez contracted until the end of 2022, with Pérez set to reach nine consecutive seasons with the team under different names. BWT became the team’s title sponsor, replacing SportPesa. Controversy arose during pre-season testing due to the RP20’s resemblance to the 2019 Mercedes AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+. A formal protest was lodged regarding the brake ducts, leading to an investigation and impounding of parts from both cars. Pérez tested positive for COVID-19 before the British Grand Prix and was replaced by Nico Hülkenberg for both the British and 70th Anniversary Grands Prix. Racing Point was subsequently fined €400,000 and had 15 constructors points deducted after the protest by Renault F1 Team was upheld.
At the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, Stroll achieved the team’s first podium finish, finishing third. Lance Stroll secured the team’s first pole position at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix, with Pérez qualifying third. Stroll led early in the Turkish Grand Prix but finished ninth, while Pérez finished second, securing the team’s second podium of the season. At the Bahrain Grand Prix, Pérez retired due to an engine failure while running in contention for a podium. At the Sakhir Grand Prix, Pérez won the race, marking the first victory for any iteration of the team since Jordan’s win at the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, and the fifth Grand Prix victory for the team’s lineage.
The long-form study of the team’s earlier iterations, including Jordan and Spyker, belongs to specialist motorsport histories rather than this article’s corpus.
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