Renault Sport managing director Cyril Abiteboul has revealed concerns over Force India becoming closely aligned with Mercedes are why he has blocked an effort by Liberty to aid the British team.
Last Friday, following a legal claim brought by driver Sergio Perez and joined by Mercedes, the Silverstone-based outfit went into administration, with efforts now underway to find a new buyer during the summer break.
However, on Monday, it emerged three teams, with Williams and McLaren the other two, were opposing an idea by CEO Chase Carey which would allow Force India to keep their prize money and revenue income even if they change the name.
For Renault, the possibility for the squad to follow Haas and Sauber in becoming ‘B-teams’, in their case with Ferrari, is the only reason.
“That’s not the type of F1 we like,” Abiteboul was quoted by PlanetF1.
“We are a little bit afraid that such a construction would make it impossible for anyone who is not enjoying the benefit of a master team or slave team to be competitive at their own level.
“We start to see some glimpses of that today in certain aspects of the grid or the development of the chassis or engine.
“We need to make sure it does not become a necessity, otherwise our model does not work and our involvement can’t be sustainable.”
One guarantee the French manufacturer has made, however, is their current position would not stand between Force India and a new owner.
“The answer is no because we want to save the jobs,” he stated. “But we want to have the reassurance required before we have to vote that this will not be the case.”
Some reassurance has come from Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff who insists a Haas/Ferrari style relationship is not want his company wants.
“We don’t like the concept of B-teams in Formula 1,” he told BBC Sport.
“We’d rather not have this structure because it provides advantages to both teams, and competitive advantages, you could argue. We are not buying Force India and we would rather not have the concept of a B-team.
“I understand there are questions from Cyril and others over what is the future of F1 if big teams buy smaller teams, which I completely respect. I completely share those thoughts and I don’t think it is the right way forward.
“We need to find a solution to how the small teams can benefit from shared infrastructure but at the same time not gain an advantage that is currently possible.”
The Austrian did admit, however, that the German manufacturer is involved in the process of finding a new owner.
“We have held discussions with every potential buyer to my knowledge and the most important thing is someone with the right funds buys the team. But we are not orchestrating it. It is in the hands of the administrator,” he said.
“It needs to be the best outcome for the creditors of the team and that is to sell for the best financial outcome.”
