Renamed Force India to start from scratch in Belgium GP
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS,BELGIUM: The renamed Force India Formula One team will start from zero at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix after being stripped of their constructors’ championship points and accepted as a new midseason entry.
The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement that Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon will keep their points.
The new team, controlled by a consortium led by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, will be called Racing Point Force India.
Otmar Szafnauer has been appointed principal, with former deputy principal Bob Fernley departing. Force India were previously sixth in the championship. “The Sahara Force India F1 Team has accepted its exclusion from the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship with immediate effect...and forfeits all Constructors’ Championship points,” the FIA said.
“The joint administrators...have completed the sale of the business and its assets to Racing Point UK Limited, the investment consortium led by Lawrence Stroll and the team’s senior management.”
Force India, co-owned by financially troubled Indian magnate Vijay Mallya, went into administration at the end of July with a rescue deal announced on August 7. While that secured the survival of the team, legal complications led to speculation they might be unable to race at Spa.
The team has been allowed to retain its prize money.
“The remaining nine teams have signed a document that enables us to keep the money that Sahara Force India had earned in years past,” Szafnauer said on Friday.