FRP Advisory has not received any order from court thus far over the claims laid down by Uralkali of a legal action for the sale of Force India to Lawrence Stroll-led team.
Following the sale of Force India to Stroll and his team, the Russian company Uralkali – owned by Dmitry Mazepin, father of GP3 Series racer Nikita, released a statement alleging of wrongdoing during the administration process.
The fertilizer company had said it might sue the administrators for the flawed process and early on Thursday ahead of the Russian GP, released another statement claiming that it has initiated the process for damages during the sale.
The company still thinks it fulfilled all the criteria regarding the buyout and had a proper plan to help the team prosper in the future. While the claims has been made, the administrators FRP Advisory though are yet to receive anything from the court.
When contacted by FormulaRapida.net, the statement forwarded read: “The Joint Administrators to Force India Formula One Team Limited note that Uralkali issued a press release this morning detailing how a claim has been issued against us in High Court in London.
“No such claim has been received by us or, as far as we are aware, by the Court. If a claim is issued it will be defended vigorously. We have fulfilled our statutory duties as administrators throughout this process and ultimately achieved a very successful outcome for all stakeholders.
“Any legal action brought against us will be defended vigorously, and we are confident it would be dismissed.” Despite the off-track dramas, Uralkali continues to sponsor the team as the sticker still features on the nose of the Force India car.
There has been no news regarding Nikita as well who serves as the team’s development driver along with Nicholas Latifi, who will drive the car at Sochi in FP1 session and academy driver Jehan Daruvala.
Elsewhere, the speculated move of Lance Stroll from Williams to Force India has died down as well for the 2018 season. Even for Force India, there has been no announcement yet of their structure going forward and what happens with their former owners.
UPDATE: FRP Advisory has confirmed to FormulaRapida.net that it has received a claim from Uralkali on the matter of the sale of Force India to Racing Point. Having received the official papers, they are confident that the case will be dismissed at the earliest.
“We can now confirm that we have been served with a claim from Uralkali relating to the administration of Force India. We are disappointed that Uralkali chose to issue their press release before issuing their claim.
“We have acted in compliance with our duties as administrators at all times and oversaw a fair and transparent bidding process which ultimately achieved a very successful outcome for all stakeholders.
“Having now seen the substance of Uralkali’s claim we are ever more confident it will be dismissed at the earliest opportunity. As all of the interested parties were aware, our primary statutory duty as administrators was to pursue a rescue of Force India as a going concern.
“All parties had the opportunity to submit a proposal to rescue the company rather than buy its assets. When the final offers came in, Racing Point was the only party to submit a rescue proposal.
“Once the proposal had been carefully assessed and we, alongside our legal advisors, were satisfied that it was reasonably achievable, we were under a statutory duty to proceed with it.
“Having failed to submit a proposal to rescue the company Uralkali now insists on comparing its bid to buy the assets of the company with a rival bid to rescue the company or buy the assets should that fail.”