Racing Point launches new F1 car

The Racing Point Formula 1 team has launched its new car and brand identity at the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto ahead of the 2019 season.

Following the takeover of Force India last summer, the team has now been formally rebranded as Racing Point, with the launch marking its first official event.

The new Racing Point F1 car was unveiled by drivers Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll on Wednesday, the latter having joined the team from Williams for 2019.

The team also confirmed betting company SportPesa as its new title sponsor, becoming SportsPesa Racing Point F1 Team.

Racing Point retains the pink design used by Force India for the past two years after continuing with BWT as a partner, with the blue of SportPesa being incorporated into the new livery design.

Force India was taken over by the Racing Point Ltd. consortium ahead of last year’s Belgian Grand Prix, adopting the name Racing Point Force India for the remainder of the season.

After losing all of its constructors’ championship points as a result of its takeover and re-entry, the team recovered to seventh place in the standings, scoring 52 points in the final nine races.

However, the team is now focusing on returning to the top four in the F1 constructors' championship, where it finished in both 2016 and 2017,

"After months of hard work behind-the-scenes it’s incredibly exciting to come to Canada and present our new identity. The long-term aim is to take this team to the very top of the sport," team principal Otmar Szafnauer said.

"We are putting the building blocks in place and it’s important we take a good step forward in 2019 as we begin this new era.

"We want to be fighting for podiums on merit and aiming for a strong top-four finish in the championship.”