Force India has terminated its customer engine supply contract with Ferrari a year early, the Silverstone-based Formula 1 team has announced, leaving the Faenza-based Toro Rosso outfit as the Scuderia's sole customer engine team. In its first season racing under the Force India name this year the tail ender team failed to score a point, although it come agonisingly close to a points finish in Monte Carlo (above) where Adrian Sutil was running in fourth place with just 10 minutes of the race remaining at which point he was hit from behind by Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari.

Force India has terminated its customer engine supply contract with Ferrari a year early, the Silverstone-based Formula 1 team has announced, leaving the Faenza-based Toro Rosso outfit as the Scuderia's sole customer engine team.

The Force India team was formed in October 2007 following a takeover of the Spyker team by an Indian businessman, and it inherited a supply of customer Ferrari engines. In its first season racing under the Force India name this year the tail ender team failed to score a point, although it come agonisingly close to a points finish in Monte Carlo where Adrian Sutil was running in fourth place with just 10 minutes of the race remaining at which point he was hit from behind by Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari. The team's best result of the season was a 10th place finish in Spain for Giancarlo Fisichella.

"Force India Formula One Team today announces that it has ended its contract with Ferrari," the team announced in a statement yesterday. "The agreement signed in 2007 also provided for a supply of engines in 2009, but will now terminate ahead of schedule at the request of Force India. Force India wishes to thank Ferrari for its much appreciated and valued support to date, which has always been carried out at the highest level; technically and professionally and within an excellent relationship."

As well as ending the contract with Ferrari, the team also announced new management changes yesterday: "The Force India Formula One Team has taken yet another step forward with its 2009 revamp plans. Force India’s senior management structure will be streamlined with immediate effect. Dr Vijay Mallya will assume the responsibilities of Team Principal in addition to his position as Chairman, to play a greater role in the direction of the team, assisted by Robert Fernley, Director of Force India. In a reorganisation of the team’s technical department, Mark Smith, design director, and James Key, technical director, will share entire responsibility for the design of the VJM02 and future cars. As a result of the restructure, Colin Kolles, Mike Gascoyne and Patrick Missling, formerly corporate and business director, will no longer form a direct part of the team’s design, manufacture, race and test operations," the Force India statement concluded.

Force India is expected on Monday to announce a new agreement with the Woking-based McLaren concern to use Mercedes-Benz engines next year, and for a broader technical collaboration. It is believed that Force India wanted a deeper relationship with Maranello that went beyond just engines, to cover the gearbox and other technologies such as the new KERS system that will be introduced in 2009, and that Ferrari was reluctant to widen the relationship to cover this.

Meanwhile Ferrari also issued a very brief press release yesterday to confirm the ending of the engine supply relationship with the Force India team: "Ferrari announces that it has agreed with Force India Formula One Team to end the technical collaboration agreement between the two teams ahead of schedule," read the statement issued in Maranello.