Mallya 'tired' of doubts over Force India's future

Vijay Mallya says he is “tired” of recurring doubts about Force India’s future in Formula 1 amid suggestions the team could be sold, instead feeling proud of the team’s achievements given its relative size and budget.

Force India has finished fourth in the constructors’ championship for each of the past two years despite having one of the smallest budgets in F1, but has been linked with a possible sale due to uncertainty about its financial situation.

Mallya stressed over the British Grand Prix weekend that a sale of the team was unlikely, and explained how he was weary of doubts about the team given it continues to deliver on-track.

“If you go back to all the media reports that were in early 2017, the media said that we took the 2016 car to Barcelona to test because we did not have the money to get the 2017 car ready – yet we finished fourth in the world championship,” Mallya said.

“So I’m getting a little tired of hearing all of this. We show our performance. Our financial situation has always been tight, as every independent team. We have limited resources. We made the best use of those limited resources, and that is why we are able to punch above our weight.

“Has the [financial] position significantly improved? I would say that position is what it always was at this time of the year. We completed our 200th grand prix in Austria despite a lot of media speculation in the past that we were going to go bust.

“But in 10 years, we have completed 200 grands prix as Force India, and I’m pretty proud of that.”

One of the most frequent rumours through 2018 has concerned a possible takeover of Force India by a British firm called Rich Energy, with its founder, William Storey, claiming an offer had been accepted back in June.

Figures from Force India had been quick to dismiss the reports before Mallya finally addressed them upon his appearance in the paddock at the British Grand Prix last weekend.

Asked why he did not seek a cease and desist order against Rich Energy if there was no deal taking place, Mallya – who is fighting extradition to India over financial irregularities – joked: “Don’t I have enough legal cases to take care of? You want me to get involved in one more?!”

“At the end of the day, you get to the point in life where you need to decide what you respond to and what you just let go by,” he added.

“I’m at a point where over the last two or three years, I I have enough meetings with lawyers and enough legal paperwork to read.

“I have no appetite to add to that.”