Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium  - The owner of the Formula One team Force India Vijay Mallya has reiterated that he is in Formula One to stay.

Speaking after the struggling team achieved their first-ever pole position through Giancarlo Fisichella at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix the Indian billionaire told the official Formula One website, formula1. com, that the future of the team was secure.

"My core businesses - spirits and beer - are doing extremely well. They do not have any resemblance of recession or slowdown. On the contrary the growth rates are in excess of 20 percent, the financial results are spectacular and the stock prices are up and I have no reason to complain."

Mallya also own an airline, which, like many others, is struggling. "The airline industry is under pressure, but not only in India. My finances do not depend on the airline and neither do Force Indias finances depend on the performance of any of my companies.

"Force India is securely funded and I am committed to stay here as everybody knows. The point is we are operating on a small budget compared to others and I am very conscious of where we spend our money and how we spend it.

"I am particularly proud that on a small budget we are able to demonstrate excellent performance."

He said that achieving pole position was the best day of his life in Formula One. "Being on pole is something that will go down in the history books and I am extremely proud."  dpa