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F1: USF1 changes name, Force India changes logo

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Khatir Soltani
From GMM

USF1, the new American team for 2010, has been asked by Bernie Ecclestone and Formula One Management (FOM) to change its name.

The North Carolina-based outfit will forthwith be known as 'USGPE' (US Grand Prix Engineering), after trademark-owner FOM objected to the use of the abbreviation 'F1' in the title.

Existing competitors including Renault, Force India and Toyota all use 'F1' in their respective names, but it is believed FOM allows these descriptors because they precede the word 'Team'.

The only exception is Williams, whose official trading name is 'WilliamsF1'.

Also at the request of FOM, Force India has changed its official logo for the 2009 season. Previously, the team's 'FI' (including the letter I) logo resembled 'F1' (including the number 1).

This year, the logo features a dot above the I, differentiating it from the official title of the series.
photo:Force India
Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
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