Perez explains decision to put Force India in administration

Sergio Perez has explained that his move to put Force India into administration was done with the intention of saving the team and protecting the 400 people employed by the Silverstone-based outfit. Force India's future was put in the hands of administrators on Friday as their financial issues continue to bite.

Perez is among Force India's creditors, reportedly owed £3million in unpaid salary, with power unit supplier Mercedes and main sponsor BWT also owed significant amounts.

According to reports, team owner Vijay Mallya's holding company is owed £159million.

The administration process takes selling the team out of Mallya's hands however, raising hopes that one of a number of interested parties will be able to strike a deal.

Deputy team principal Bob Fernley insisted at the Hungarian grand Prix that the team held "no animosity" towards Perez and the Mexican has now explained the "heart-breaking" decision he had to make.

"I end up in a very difficult situation," said Perez. "The last month or so has been extremely tough for me, with the situation our team was [in], and I end up in the middle.

Thank you everyone for your support, better days are coming! ???????? ••• Gracias a todos por su apoyo, vendrán días mejores!!! ???????? pic.twitter.com/A8466Umd2x — Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) July 28, 2018

"We got to a point where action had to be taken, to protect the 400 people that work in the team.

"I should not really like to be involved in this because at the end of the day I'm just a driver, but it got too much and I was asked by a couple of members of the team to go ahead and save the team.

"There was a winding up petition from another customer, which would have closed down the team completely. Therefore, I was asked to basically save the team – to pull the trigger and put the team into administration.

"It has nothing to do with my outstanding amounts. The only reason I've done it is to save the team, and for the better future of the team.

"It was extremely hard, emotionally and mentally. It's really tough. I haven't been able to focus on my driving.

"I don't really understand all the terms with the lawyers, but certainly the bottom line of this is that we either do this or the team will have gone bust."