Bob Fernley says Force India will not name their second driver until after Jerez

Force India's Bob Fernley says the team will not name their second and third drivers until after the first pre-season test in Jerez.

Fernley also stressed they were not simply looking for the highest bidder and that financial backing was unlikely to have any impact on the driver who gets the seat. He stated: "The decision that we make will be for the benefit of the team and that is not necessarily a financial requirement - in fact it is highly unlikely that it will be." A new technical partnership could have an impact on the decision, however, with Force India's current deal with McLaren ending at the end of this coming season, ahead of major rule changes in 2014. "I think what we are trying to look at is that we have our technical programmes working forward and, over the next week or so, we should be able to put all that in place," Fernley said. "I think the shareholders are the key people in deciding what they are looking for long term. "There is an element of where we want to go into 2014 but it is one part of the whole equation. Yes, we are trying to balance everything but it would be too simplistic to say that it was linked to an engine. "We've always had these mythical stories about Paul being linked with Mercedes and it is total nonsense. There is, however, a strong link with Jules (Bianchi) and Ferrari but it is not contingent. "This is the last year of the McLaren partnership, the five-year deal finishes in 2013 and again that is part of our discussions about where we go and what we are doing going forward and everything else. So there is quite a lot going on for Force India at the moment on that side of it." Nico Hulkenberg left the team at the end of 2012 for Sauber and Fernley admits they were surprised by his departure - perhaps explaining in part the time it has taken to appoint a replacement. "We were not expecting Nico to go, so it was a surprise to us and all we are doing is making sure we dot the I's and the T's before we make that next step and that we have the right contracts in place to make sure we deliver what we want going forward," he added.