Haas protests Force India ahead of Abu Dhabi GP

Haas and Force India have both been summoned to report to the stewards on Friday morning in Abu Dhabi ahead of first practice.

No detail has been given apart from the declaration that it is due to a protest by Haas against both Force Indias.

However, it is understood that the issue pertains to the new Force India entry running a design, the VJM11, built by the original team.

F1 regulations state all entries must own the intellectual property rights to their design.

Force India fell into administration over the summer and was accepted by the FIA as a new entry, and Racing Point Force India has therefore continued to use the VJM11.

Haas and Force India are not rivals for position in the constructors' championship as Haas is fifth on 90 points and Force India seventh, on 48, after losing its results from the first half of the season.

However, the two teams have been in dispute all season, starting with Force India hitting out at the season opener in Australia over Haas's links to Ferrari.

Haas has since struck back over Force India's eligibility for prize money as the team is now a new entry owned by a new company.

The American team does not believe that Force India should be allowed to immediately qualify for 'Column 1' payments, which teams need to finish in the top 10 in two of three seasons to be eligible for.

There have been strong hints from Force India team principal Otmar Szafnauer at recent races that this dispute would be settled in Force India's favour.

Haas team boss Gunther Steiner met with F1 boss Chase Carey on Thursday in Abu Dhabi to discuss "a lot of things".

"No, unfortunately," Steiner said when asked about the prize money issue. We are not making progress at the moment. That is how we leave it."

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Haas F1

Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images