Perez: I was asked to save Force India with legal action

Sergio Perez has revealed he was asked to help "save" Force India by taking legal action against the Formula 1 team that resulted in the company entering administration on Friday.

Following long-running financial difficulties, Force India formally entered administration following a High Court hearing in London, with Perez listed as one of the creditors with an outstanding sum of over £3 million.

Mercedes was also confirmed to be one of the creditors supporting the move into administration, with the team's engine supplier owed more than €10 million. The appointed administrators are now working to find a buyer or fresh investment for the team.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday evening, Perez said it was "extremely tough" to take the action, but revealed he was asked by a couple of team members to come forward and help save the operation, fearing it would go bust if it did not enter administration.

"In the end, I ended up in the middle. We got to a point where action had to be taken, to protect the 400 people who work in the team," Perez said.

"I should not really like to be involved in this, because at the end of the day, I’m just a driver, and I’m just here to drive. I tried to focus but then it got too much.

"I was asked by a couple of members of the team to go ahead and save the team and protect the 400 people who were working there. For me, it was hard because emotionally and mentally, it’s really tough, I haven’t been able to focus on my driving, on being a racing driver. There were so many things out of that.

"But the picture is much bigger than it looks at the moment. We might go into a painful period but the outcome will be really good for all the team."

Perez said that although his backers were owed money from last year, a winding up order pushed through by another creditor had put the team at risk of going under and folding if it did not enter administration.

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

"It was nothing to do with my outstanding amounts. The only reason I have done it was to save the team and for the better future for the team."

Perez said his heart was "broken" when he considered the possible implications on team owner Vijay Mallya, who continues to fight extradition to India over alleged financial irregularities. While he confirmed he has not spoken with Mallya since the court ruling, he is hopeful of a positive outcome for his team boss.

"I hope that whatever happens, Vijay is happy with that and gets a good benefit," Perez said.

"Secondly, I look to hopefully have a team that is more stable and can move on to the next level and can be a racing team. We were not a racing team anymore since the beginning of this.

"I will be happy if we can get all in the whole group better, and hopefully be happy afterwards."