Vijay Mallya says Force India's F1 future is safe

Following the departures of the Marussia and Caterham F1 teams, there has been speculation that Force India's debts could jeopardise its place on the grid.

Mallya, whose team has aligned with Lotus and Sauber in the battle over cost solutions, said there was no reason to worry about Force India's situation.

"Every business has current assets and current liabilities," he said. "That's the way business runs globally, big or small.

"Do we have accounts payable? Sure we do.

"The finances of Force India have been speculated upon for a long time.

"When our partners the Sahara Group got into a spot of trouble, there was even more speculation, but here we are and racing strong."

He said rumours about his and other teams' financial health would only hurt F1.

"All this speculation I think needs to stop," said Mallya.

"It's not doing anybody any good, neither is it doing the sport any good, neither does it do any teams any good.

"The bottom line is we're OK. Our new car is almost ready - and we are here and we are racing."

FAITH IN ECCLESTONE

Mallya still has faith that Bernie Ecclestone will take action with F1 owner CVC to help smaller teams, despite contradictory messages over the topic in Brazil.

"I know only what he told me in the presence of four others: he said he's going to meet [CVC chief] Donald [MacKenzie]," said Mallya, in response to claims that the small teams would receive no help.

"If I don't hear by the end of the week I'll send him a gentle reminder. Only then will we know where we stand or don't stand."

Mallya is adamant that some form of action has to be taken, with teams struggling to afford increased engine costs.

"The problems are real," he said. "The problems should not be wished away.

"[Ecclestone] has made statements in Austin where he has acknowledged there is a problem. He also said he doesn't know how to fix it.