Former Force India F1 team owner sentenced to prison

The former owner of Force India, Vijay Mallya, has been sentenced to prison. The Indian disobeyed a court order.

On Monday, India's Supreme Court found Mallya guilty of contempt of court. Mallya failed to disclose his assets after claiming he could not meet a loan repayment. The former Force India owner has been sentenced to a four-month jail term, reports BBC News.

The Indian sold beer under the Kingfisher brand for a long time. In 2007, he made a bid for Formula One team Spyker, which then continued under the name Force India. In 2019, the name disappeared from the sport when the team was renamed Racing Point. Force India actually went bankrupt after Mallya's allegations of fraud and debt increased. Lawrence Stroll took over the team, now known to us as Aston Martin.

Force India was quite successful

Mallya moved from India to London in 2016, but he denied fleeing the country because of his high debts. The country has previously tried to extradite him so that he could be charged with fraud in his native country. Force India was known as the team that could often challenge the top teams, despite its smaller budget. Sergio Perez drove for Force India for five years, then stayed with the team under the name Racing Point for two more years.