Mallya: Off-track issues no distraction

Force India owner Vijay Mallya is confident his team's on-track efforts will not be thwarted by the off-track issues surrounding his outfit

With the Silverstone-based operation having launched legal action against Lotus and Aerolab for allegedly copying one of its wind tunnel models, the team was then rocked when its rivals announced it had signed several of its staff members - including technical chief Mark Smith.

But despite the uncertainty caused by the events of last week, Mallya believes that the team can keep up its good form - and says it is ready to announce a new structure.

"We are fully focussed on the task in hand, which is to score as many points as we can and to regain that fifth position in the championship," said Mallya, who has made it clear that the team will not allow Smith to leave before his contractual term ends.

"We're not so far away from Renault and there are plenty of opportunities left to rack points up and some circuits that we should really fly on, including Montreal.

"Any actions we're taking away from the track won't affect the team's focus on sealing our most successful season to date.

"Our technical team, despite reports, is still very much intact - Mark [Smith] will stay with us until April 2011 and we will, in due course, announce a structure that will take us to the next level of performance.

"I'm very comfortable with where we are as a team and where we are going. The structure and any off track events are for me to worry about, so the team can get on with doing what they do best at the track."