Monaco (AFP) – The re-born Force India team has confirmed that Williams driver Lance Stroll had a seat fitting at their Silverstone base last week.
The Canadian teenager, whose billionaire father Lawrence heads the consortium that has taken over the British team, has been widely tipped to switch teams in a complex multiple driver transfer.
Force India team chief Otmar Szafnauer and technical director Andy Green confirmed that Stroll had visited their factory for a seat fitting.
“He fits in the car — just in case,” said Szafnauer.
Green said: “What we wanted was to make sure there was nothing that needed to change on next year’s car, subtly for him.
“There are a few things we did change that we caught just in time.”
Szafnauer added that it was likely Force India would retain their current drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon this year.
“But you never know what tomorrow will bring,” he added.
He also suggested that Haas team boss Gunther Steiner may be “confused” in some about their dispute over the new Force India team’s claim for historic prize money payments.
Steiner has said he is concerned that the new Force India may have been given preferential treatment as a “new entrant” and have not been asked, as Haas were, to complete two seasons in the top ten to qualify for prize money.
“As far as I know it, I think everyone has agreed to allow the prize money that was earned by the old Force India to continue to be paid to the new Force India,” said Szafnauer.
“If you look at the definition of a going concern, I think we’re a going concern. In the piece of paper that he [Steiner] signed, if I remember right, it says ‘going concern’. He may be confused, I don’t know, in thinking that we’re not a going concern, but we are…”
He added that he believed the argument was about detail.
“Is it an asset sale or is it a share sale? It’s just semantics. Are we not the same team? This is like deja vu all over again.”