Doubts about Force India being able to race at Spa, the first Grand Prix since the August break, emerged on Wednesday with reports of legal complications.
Perez, who started eighth on the grid, finished ninth after being passed by Kevin Magnussen towards the end of the 56-lap race.
There has been speculation within Formula One that Lawrence Stroll, the billionaire father of Canadian driver Lance, is willing to invest in Force India as part of a move for his son from Williams.
French driver Esteban Ocon will race for Force Indianext season after agreeing a multi-year deal, the Silverstone-based Formula One team said in a statement at the Brazilian Grand Prix on Thursday. Ocon replaces experienced German Nico Hulkenberg, who is moving to Renault, alongside Mexican Sergio Perez at a team co-owned by Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya and currently fourth in the championship. The 20-year-old is contracted long-term to Mercedes, Force India's engine provider, and made his debut this year with the lowly Manor team as a mid-season replacement for Indonesian Rio Haryanto.
Sahara Force India made a promising start to the 2017 Formula One season with a double points finish through Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, on Sunday.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix stewards dismissed a protest by the Haas Formula One team on Saturday and recognised Force India as a new constructor whose cars were eligible to compete in the championship.
Formula One is due to go through a major technical overhaul next season, with wider wheels and chassis, and a more aggressive look with revised aerodynamics aimed at making the cars faster and harder to drive.
Force India revealed an aggressive new look for the 2015 Formula One season on Wednesday with Mexican driver Sergio Perez telling his compatriots he expected his best season yet.
Force India co-owner Vijay Mallya reminded drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon that the team must take priority after a collision at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix wrecked hopes of a first win in Formula One.
IMAGES from the Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix held at Baku City Circuit on Sunday
The Silverstone-based team have finished fourth for the past two years
They said creditors would be paid in full and all 405 jobs at the Silverstone-based team, that was co-owned by embattled Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and finished fourth last year, were safe.
Force India are now 99 points clear of fifth-placed Williams, and 165 behind third-placed Red Bull, with a maximum 86 remaining to be won.
German Formula One driver Nico Hulkenberg will leave Force India and race for Renault in 2017 after signing a multi-year deal with the French manufacturer.
Lewis Hamilton won a dramatic Russian Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday to take a huge step towards his third world championship after Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg retired with throttle failure.
Sahara Force India consolidated its fourth position in the constructors championship by collecting seven points from the Mexican Grand Prix with Nico Hulkenberg finishing seventh and Sergio Perez 10th in Mexico City on Sunday.
"It was a really bad accident, pretty unlucky," Perez told reporters of his crash at the Hungaroring.
The report also revealed the parlous finances of the Vijay Mallya-owned team at the time they were taken into administration last July.
Formula One's first pre-season test ended in Jerez with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen fastest.
The administration was triggered by Force India's Mexican driver Sergio Perez, supported by engine provider Mercedes and team sponsor BWT who were also owed money by a team struggling financially.
Force India Formula One team boss Vijay Mallya feels beating McLaren for fifth spot in the team standings will be a 'big task' in the remaining four races of the season.
Germany's Nico Hulkenberg will replace Racing Point driver Sergio Perez at this weekend's British Formula One Grand Prix after the Mexican was ruled out by a positive COVID-19 test result. Hulkenberg, a veteran of 177 Grands Prix, raced for the team when they were known as Force India. He competed for Renault last season.
Force India vowed to rein in fractious Formula One drivers Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez after more costly collisions between the pair at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Dutch teenager Max Verstappen has won Formula One's Driver of the Day award for the third time in nine races after finishing second for Red Bull in Austria on Sunday.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton took his 10th pole in 11 races on Saturday with Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg qualifying second on the Belgian Grand Prix grid.
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Sergio Perez expressed his shock at McLaren's decision to drop him on Thursday and hoped he would find another Formula One drive for next season despite time being against him.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
As expected, it was not a great result for Sahara Force India in the qualifying session for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix as Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez will start the season-opening race from the 14th and 15th spots respectively.
Hulkenberg is the team's reserve driver and has stood in for them three times already since he last raced full time in Formula One with Renault in 2019.
Mexican Grand Prix organisers say next month's Formula One race in Mexico City will go ahead as planned despite the capital being hit by its deadliest earthquake in three decades.Mexican Grand Prix organisers say next month's Formula One race in Mexico City will go ahead as planned despite the capital being hit by its deadliest earthquake in three decades.
Mexican Sergio Perez qualified second for Force India but will drop five places due to an unscheduled gearbox change after he crashed in final practice on the Baku street circuit.
Force India boss Vijay Mallya says his partnership with the Formula 1 team's co-owner Subrata Roy stands strong despite the Sahara Group chief being in jail since March 2014.
Force India co-owner Vijay Mallya has steered his Formula One team through a decade of growth and is looking forward to another, although the 'India' moniker looks destined to be dropped.
Triple world champion Lewis Hamilton celebrated his first win of the Formula One season in a crash-filled Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.
Nico Rosberg cruised to victory in the first Formula One race held in Azerbaijan on Sunday and increased his championship lead over Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton to 24 points. While the German enjoyed an uneventful drive in the late afternoon sunshine, triple world champion Hamilton worked up a head of steam as he wrestled with his car's settings without the team being able to help.
Sahara India needs to pay back $5.3 billion, raised from millions of small investors through the sale of bonds ruled by the Supreme Court to be illegal, before founder Subrata Roy can be released.
Force India finished sixth in 2014 but spent much of last season calling for cost cuts.
Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes suffered a rare mechanical failure on Friday as Formula One teams wrapped up pre-season testing in Barcelona with Ferrari back on top of the timesheets.
Lewis Hamilton took pole position at the Italian Grand Prix for the third year in a row on Saturday with Mercedes team mate and title rival Nico Rosberg joining the Briton on the front row of the grid.
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