Perez confident Force India will race at Spa

Sergio Perez has said it is “business as usual” for Force India in Spa and expects them to race amid ongoing uncertainty.

A takeover from a consortium led by Lawrence Stroll has taken longer to complete than first anticipated with legal issues slowing down the process.

In the meantime, Stroll has purchased all physical assets which in turn leaves Force India  still in administration with no cars, no factory and no equipment to race with.

However, a name change and a new team entry is currently in the works, as seen by the stripping off of Force India logos in the paddock area, but that could mean all World Championship points are taken away from the team in its current guise.

As the wait for official confirmation continues, Perez is in a pretty relaxed state about the messy situation.

“As far as I’m concerned, no. So it’s business as usual,” Perez told reporters in the paddock.

“I think the team is quite optimistic, quite happy, we can see a release on the upgrades coming for the future, we see a different structure, and financially the team has a much more stable future for the coming years.

“So I think that can directly be linked to track performance.

“I was at the factory in the week, and the people I was seeing, there was a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of positiveness going forwards, so definitely a good sign.”

And Perez also stated that his own contract extension with Force India is nothing more than an announcement away.

“Actually everything is very much completed, so it’s just a matter of timing right now,” he added.

“I think there are other priorities than communicating what my future is, so we’re here racing focussing on Spa, and as I said it’s just a matter of time before I’m able to confirm.”

Perez also reacted to the news that long-time deputy team principal Bob Fernley has left the team as part of the ongoing changes at the currently-named Force India.

He said: “He’s a great friend of mine, and I think we’re going to speak at some point during the next week or so.

“It’s something the team had to communicate. I’m not too much aware of those changes, but certainly Bob is a very close friend of mine.”

Follow us on Twitter @Planet_F1 and like our Facebook page