Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley says the team will match Mercedes' stance on the engine unfreeze row, but says he is against "an engine war".

A compromise agreement appeared to be reached in Singapore which would have allowed engine manufacturers to bring one performance update to their power units during next season, but Mercedes was accused of reneging on that solution in Russia. Speaking exclusively to Crash.net, Fernley said Force India - a Mercedes customer - is against any changes that could lead to increased costs.

"If it costs us money we're against it, it's as simple as that," Fernley said. "Obviously we're advocating that we need to have cost control and the last thing that we need is an engine war.

"I think there are two elements to it really. One is if it increases costs we're against it, and if it's not a costing issue we will do whatever Mercedes really want us to do because they're our engine supplier at the end of the day and our partners. So we would follow their direction, but first and foremost it would be cost."

And in the wake of Ron Dennis' criticism of Mercedes, Fernley said he feels Force India is well treated as a customer team.

"It's probably a bit harsh from Ron, that one. I think Mercedes of all companies are extremely fair and where possible they give equal equipment across the board. There are always going to be slight disparities because obviously of the development program and the very few engines that we're running.

"So when an upgrade is made clearly the works team are going to get it first and the others are going to get it within the phase of their engines coming through because they're all pre-built. So I think you've got to be pragmatic about it and I'm sure Ron will be running exactly the same system when he is the main Honda customer car."