Force India is in a race for mere survival, its deputy boss Bob Fernley has admitted.

Amid owner and boss Vijay Mallya's ever-deepening legal troubles, his deputy Fernley has revealed that he is scrambling to put together the team's 2018 budget.

"The next four weeks will decide if we will survive," Germany's Auto Bild quotes him as saying.

"I will have to raise a lot of money in a short amount of time."

Previously, Force India has been given a helping hand by getting an advance on its official F1 income.

Fernley said: "For that we always need the approval of the other teams, and this time Williams has put in the veto.

"I have a plan that could work in the next two to three weeks."

Force India will be looking to get its first points of 2018 on the board at the Bahrain Grand Prix next weekend.