Ecclestone Plays Down Talk of Mallya Exit from Force India
Bernie Ecclestone says Vijay Mallya is unlikely to walk away from Force India, despite ongoing legal and financial pressures on the team's co-owners.
Bernie Ecclestone has dismissed suggestions that Vijay Mallya is preparing to leave Formula One or sell his stake in Force India, despite mounting legal and financial pressures on the team’s ownership. Speaking to Reuters in February 2016, the then F1 chief executive said he did not believe Mallya wanted out, even as the future of the Silverstone-based team came under scrutiny.
Earlier in February, lawyers for Subrata Roy, the jailed co-owner of Force India and head of Sahara Group, asked India’s Supreme Court for permission to sell assets including his 42.5 per cent stake in the team. The remaining 42.5 per cent is held by Mallya, who is himself under legal pressure due to issues surrounding his companies United Breweries and Kingfisher Airlines.
Despite this uncertainty, Ecclestone insisted that Mallya’s intention is not to quit. “I’m quite sure the last thing Vijay wants to do is to quit,” he told Reuters. He acknowledged, though, that most teams would consider a sale if the offer was commercially attractive, saying it was not unusual for owners to be open to a deal if the price was right.
Ownership turmoil and failed Aston Martin talks
Force India’s ownership situation became more complex after failed talks to rebrand the team as Aston Martin. Mallya had pushed for a partnership with the British luxury carmaker, but the deal did not come together. The collapse of those talks left Force India without a new title sponsor or fresh investment at a time when both major shareholders were facing outside pressures.
The team’s future has been called into question as a result. With Roy’s stake potentially for sale and Mallya’s own position under threat, speculation has grown about whether Force India could continue in its current form. For more on the financial troubles facing the team, see Force India faces collapse as Mallya’s financial crisis deepens.
Ecclestone’s perspective on team sales in F1
Ecclestone’s comments reflect a wider reality in Formula One: few teams are immune from the temptation to sell if a buyer appears with a strong enough offer. He pointed out that decisions to sell are often commercial rather than emotional, and that the prospect of a sale does not necessarily mean a team is in crisis or that owners are eager to leave. In Force India’s case, the current uncertainty is as much about the legal and financial circumstances of its shareholders as about the team’s position within the sport.
