Friday 5 March at 18:01 : Mar.5 (GMM) Director of business affairs Ian Phillips has left Force India.

Late in 2009, the Silverstone based team slammed its long-serving employee for confirming speculation that Giancarlo Fisichella was imminently due to switch to Ferrari.

Team boss Vijay Mallya reacted by issuing a media statement that said Phillips was not "authorised to speak to the media. His comments should therefore be ignored".

Six months on, Force India announced late on Friday that Phillips, who joined Jordan at its inception in the early 90s, is leaving the team.

"The team would like to wish Ian every success in his future endeavours," it said.