7

Prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix, Sahara Force India entered administration and was bought out by the consortium Racing Point UK, renaming themselves Racing Point Force India in the Belgian Grand Prix but with zero points in the constructors championship.

Besides the new ownership, the entire team was basically the same as it was at the start of the season. Same chassis, same drivers and the same crew.

Is a change of ownership midway through the season regarded as a separate team entry that results in a team not retaining all the points they've currently earned in the season?

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6

Racing Point Force India count as a new team, that's why they start with no points. The points from old Sahara Force India went away with their exclusion.

When Sahara Force India's entry was excluded from the championship, the team's 59 points from the first 12 races of the season went with it. As a new entry, Racing Point Force India starts the Belgian Grand Prix on zero points and its final championship position for 2018 will be determined by the points it accrues relative to its rivals from this weekend onwards. The drivers keep their points in the drivers' championship in the same way that a driver who switched teams mid season would keep theirs.

(ESPN)

Wikipedia also states:

A consortium led by Lawrence Stroll purchased the racing assets and operations of Force India through a company named Racing Point UK Ltd. Force India was then excluded from the Championship on grounds of their inability to participate in events. This allowed a new team known as "Racing Point Force India" to apply for a late entry and begin the championship from the Belgian Grand Prix.

  1. Force India's (FI) assets were sold to Racing Point (RP), but the FI company itself wasn't
  2. The assets no longer belonged to FI.
  3. FIA excluded FI due to their inability to continue (no assets left to race).
  4. RP applied for the vacant spot as late entry.
  5. RP now finishes the season with a new team using FI's assets.
  6. It must keep the name Force India, because that's the chassis name, which cannot be changed during a season.
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  • Is a team going into administration automatically considered as them opting out of the championship? – Noir Antares Aug 27 '18 at 7:39
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    Had the new owner purchased the shares rather than just the assets, they would have remained the same entrant as before. But because it was an asset sale, i.e. the company itself has not changed hands, that was not possible. – JulianHzg Aug 27 '18 at 7:55
  • Entering administration itself does nothing directly. There is nothing about this in the rules. – dly Aug 27 '18 at 7:57
  • So basically everything was in the FIA's discretion once Sahara FI's assets were bought out by technically, a new team? – Noir Antares Aug 27 '18 at 8:07
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    @NoirAntares no.. there are still rules to follow. "Following a disciplinary investigation and prosecution by the FIA under Article 4 of the FIA’s Judicial and Disciplinary Rules, the Sahara Force India F1 Team has accepted its exclusion from the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship with immediate effect, due to its incapacity to comply with Article 8.2 of the Sporting Regulations moving forward, and forfeits all Constructors Championship points under Article 6.2." Administration is one thing, selling all assets is something completely different. – dly Aug 27 '18 at 8:12

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