Force India will not oppose the departure of its drivers

Whether it’s Nico Hülkenberg, whom many mention as heading to Ferrari, or Paul di Resta, designated as the number one successor to Lewis Hamilton at McLaren or Schumacher at Mercedes in 2013, the Sahara Force India drivers have been making headlines in the transfer market in recent weeks.

Although both men have a contract for next season with their current team, Bob Fernley (team co-director) states that it would be foolish for the Indian team to oppose a transfer of Di Resta or Hülkenberg to a bigger team, provided an interesting offer is made: « Our driver duo is complete. Our drivers are with us for the long term. If there is movement in the market, it’s not something we will initiate. While we don’t want to lose Paul or Nico, they are both good young drivers. We will not force a driver to stay. Vijay [Mallya] has always been open about this. We are not here to prevent our drivers from moving forward, but we would like it to be done in the best way, » explains Fernley to Autosport.

« We have good relationships in the paddock. Mercedes and McLaren are our partners and we also have a good rapport with Ferrari thanks to Jules [Bianchi], so why wouldn’t we listen? » adds Fernley.

A few days ago, the same Bob Fernley pointed out that Force India was delighted with its current driver duo, stating that Hülkenberg and Di Resta were on equal footing. There is no doubt, therefore, that the Indian team will not let go of one of its drivers, or both, without good financial compensation. If a seat were to become available on the Silverstone team, it would probably be beneficial to Jules Bianchi, the Frenchman currently being the team’s third driver, but also for Charles Pic, for whom the Indian team would have a certain interest.

After a relatively calm summer, the transfer period, called ‘The silly season’ by the English, is now well and truly underway.