Haas not appeased about Force India treatment despite F1 talks

Haas boss Steiner and his team's owner Gene Haas are seeking a better understanding of why the new Force India outfit has been allowed to earn Column 1 prize money immediately, while it had to wait two years before it could qualify.

F1's commercial rights deals normally require new outfits to finish in the top 10 of the constructors' championship for two seasons before they can qualify for such income.

But sources have indicated that Force India has agreed a deal with F1 chiefs that will allow it to earn payments straight away.

This agreement still requires approval from all of Force India's rivals and it is understood that this has not yet happened - despite a deal for the team to carry over its historic payments receiving support.

Despite talks at Spa with F1 chairman Chase Carey and managing director Ross Brawn, plus a follow-up meeting with Force India owner Lawrence Stroll, Steiner said he still had some unease about the situation.

When asked by Autoport if he was more reassured about matters following the talks, Steiner said: "No - we just talked it through, but no conclusion.

"Fair play to Lawrence and I respect him - he puts his money where his mouth is, bought the team, he did a great job.

"But everything happened so quick, it was like boom, boom, boom! And all of a sudden - 'Let's get them to the [grid]'.

"We have no problem with that, but then [let's] figure out the legal stuff. We are not in a hurry.

"They've got a procedure to race here, but in business at that level you need time to consult, to understand, to talk.

"I don't know who else is questioning, who else wants to understand that, I have no idea. We just want a little bit of time to understand what exactly is happening."

Steiner said one of the key things that he and Haas wanted to get more clarity on was why Force India has been granted access to immediate prize money.

"We need to understand properly why," he said.

"It's not a frustration, it's an understanding. I don't think we are frustrated, it's just like, before you do business, we want to understand why it is done and how it is done."