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Mike Gascoyne Is Suing Force India

Vijay Mallya's Force India is facing lawsuit following the layoff of former Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne in November 2008, according to autosport.com site. Gascoyne was forced to end his contract with Force India shortly after the end of last season, as a result of the team's poor performances in Formula 1 in 2008.

Having joined the team at the beginning of 2007, Gascoyne would have had one more year of contract with Force India, while also benefiting from a 2-year extension option at the end of 2009. That means a total of $2.5 million in wages throughout the upcoming season.

Mallya decided to take full control over his team shortly after the season finale in Brazil, taking 2 crucial decisions. The first one was to part ways with Ferrari because of their poor engine performances, while the second was to renounce at both team principal Colin Kolles and technical boss Gascoyne due to their poor management of the team in 2008.

“Force India is my most difficult project to date and it has become clear that it requires more direct input from my side and greater performance accountability. We have come a long way this season, but we need more and that requires some radical reorganization of the management structure to ensure the maximum productivity,” had stated Mallya at the time.

However, according to the aforementioned source, Gascoyne will not let the Indian billionaire get away with it, as he has already submitted the legal documentation in London's High Court for damages and incidental costs. What Gascoyne is demanding is the $2.5 million for his last year of contract plus a percentage of the $5 million he would have earned had he signed the 2-year extension.

Force India is yet to issue a statement on the matter.
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