Force India Faces Dissolution Prior to 2010 Season

Force India has now become the third team from the current FIA entry list for the 2010 Formula One Championship that might not make the grid of the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix in mid-March. And it's not because they don't have the money to sustain their F1 operations, but because of their ongoing financial problems with UK's Companies House.

According to Britain's the Daily Telegraph, cited by the GMM news agency, Vijay Mallya's team “has failed to lodge its mandatory financial accounts for 2008.” The initial deadline for filing those accounts was October last year, but obviosuly the Silverstone based organization failed to meet it.

The British reporters found out that Companies House has already issued a notice of dissolution to the two part owners of the Force India Mercedes F1 team – Mallya and Michiel Mol – on January 26th. Asked about that, the team's new chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer confirmed the financial problems with Companies House, but revealed that the deadline was further extended until February 25.

“We have been discussing an extension to that filing deadline with Companies House because we needed more time to get the accounts in order. On January 28 we got written confirmation of a deadline extension to February 25. If we don't make this the question is then what happens,” said Szafnauer.

“If they do submit their accounts by February 25, there will be time for us to suspend the dissolution process. The ball is in their court. It (the dissolution) is only going to be suspended when the accounts are received. If we don't receive any accounts in the next three months we are going to strike the company off,” responded a Companies House representative, who revealed that Force India filed their financial accounts late in 2006 and 2007 also.