Racing Point Force India was granted its Formula 1 entry by FIA, but the team "will start afresh as a new team this week and with zero points" in the F1 Constructors' Championship standings, according to AUTOWEEK. When Lawrence Stroll and his consortium purchased Force India earlier this month, he took control of all the physical assets of the team, "which included saving some 400 jobs." What this did not include, however, was the F1 entry, which was owned by former title sponsor Sahara. This meant that, as the team turned up at the track for this weekend's Belgium Grand Prix, "there was a chance" that Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon "could be prevented from racing." Obviously something like that "would be very embarrassing" for the new investors, Liberty Media and FIA, so an announcement late on Thursday that an entry as a new constructor had been granted "seems as though common sense has prevailed." Prior to this week, the team was sixth in the Constructors' Championship standings with 59 points, just seven behind fifth-place Haas F1. Pérez and Ocon will "keep their points in the drivers' standings." In a separate announcement, Racing Point Force India unveiled Otmar Szafnauer as CEO -- a "step up from his previous role" of COO with the old team -- while Robert Fernley is the "only high-profile exit" (AUTOWEEK, 8/23).
