Force India to appeal against Aerolab

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Force India will be appealing against a recent High Court ruling on its dispute with Aerolab and Team Lotus and also requested world motorsports body FIA to investigate the matter once again.

The Silverstone-based team were awarded 25,000 Euros in damages last week after the High Court ruled that Aerolab and Team Lotus have used some components in its 2010 car design process, whose Intellectual Property rights were owned by Force India.

Force India feel that the damages that they have been awarded are not high enough.

"We will ask the judge for appeal on a number of things, and our legal team has not determined that (yet). Of course damages will be one and some of the conduct will be the other. What cannot be appealed is the decision - because that is admitted in affidavit and on oath. The guilt side stays; what we are saying is we want more damages. If we get it, or if we even get the appeal, is a completely different thing," deputy team principal Robert Fernley was quoted as saying by AutoSport.

"What we will do now is refer it to the FIA in its totality and it is up to the FIA to decide if there is anything that needs to be taken further," said Fernley.

The FIA has to wait till the conclusion of an Italian criminal case before deciding if it will look into the matter.

"The FIA has to make its own decision. I am not sure why a criminal case needs to be proved, when it has already been proved in a UK High Court," said Fernley.

The court has also ordered Force India to pay 850,000 Euros in unpaid fees to Aerolab.