Force India will not rush negotiations with Sergio Perez's sponsors regarding his future with the team.
Perez has a contract for 2017 but has cast doubt over his future in recent months by saying he would need to talk to his sponsors regarding his plans. With a number of Mexican backers, Perez has a complex contractual situation which deputy team principal Bob Fernley says requires time to finalise, with Force India willing to be patient.
“It would be nice to sort soon but it has got to go its own pace and you can’t rush these things," Fernley told F1i. "It’s quite complicated in the case of Checo and quite sophisticated, so we’ve got to allow it to roll so that everybody is happy. They are our partners at the end of the day and we want to make sure we work with them.”
After Perez finished fifth behind team-mate Nico Hulkenberg at Spa-Francorchamps - helping Force India leapfrog Williams in the constructors' championship - Fernley says the performance shows the Mexican is not distracted by the situation, adding he expects him to stay.
“No, I think that proved it," Fernley replied when asked if he's happy Perez is delivering regardless of uncertainty over his future. "We don’t have any issues, we’ve got a process to do, you sign driver contracts and then you talk commercial. We’ve done driver contracts and we’re now talking commercial.”
Romain Grosjean column: Speed, sponsors and scheduling
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