Oct.21 (GMM) Vijay Mallya's formula one team will have an Indian name and logo, but the billionaire played down suggestions that a countryman will occupy a cockpit next year.



The Indian tycoon, who with Dutchman Michiel Mol has bought the Silverstone based outfit from Spyker, revealed at Interlagos that he intends to rename the team 'Force India' next year.



He has also been displaying Force India's new logo at recent races; an 'F' in the colours of the Indian flag, and a number '1' representing the word India (F1).



With names including Ralf Schumacher, Tonio Liuzzi and even Jarno Trulli linked with the seat alongside Adrian Sutil for 2008, however, Mallya played down suggestions that an Indian national - such as Narain Karthikeyan - will definitely drive for him.



"It would be very complementary, however it is not essential," he said.



"We need a driver of some calibre to also improve the performance of the team. We can't have rookies only. For better performance I need a proven driver.



"It's true that a driver does do a lot to propel the momentum of the fan club, and there was certainly a spike in the interest levels when Narain Karthikeyan was driving in formula one," Mallya continued.



"But I think that to have an Indian team on the grid will attract far more interest from the Indian fans."



Mallya also revealed that the car, presently painted orange to represent its Dutch links with Spyker, will not necessarily feature the colours of India (orange, white and green) next year.



"The livery will obviously be determined by the sponsors we'll have -- because a sponsor wants the colours of the car to also be compatible with their own branding," he said.