By IANS
Chennai : Force India’s new 2008 Formula One car, the VJM01, will make its track debut in Barcelona later Monday.
The car, named after the team’s co-owners Vijay Mallya, and Jan and Michiel Mol, is based on the B-spec F8-VII that Force India’s predecessor, the Spyker Formula One Team, launched at the 2007 Italian Grand Prix.
According to a press release, the car, developed throughout the year at its British base and wind tunnels in Brackley, and at Aerolab in Italy, represented a significant step forward for the small Silverstone-based team, with optimised mechanical and aerodynamic packages.
This year’s challenger is an evolution of this development. As Force India chief technical officer, Mike Gascoyne explains: “The 2008 car is based on the B-spec car we introduced at the end of last year. We have carried the chassis over from 2007 to 2008, but the car we run at the Australian Grand Prix will have numerous aerodynamic and mechanical updates, which we will be testing at Barcelona (Feb 25-27) before the first race.
“Aerodynamically, there has been a complete rework of the car. With our two wind tunnels in Brackley and Italy now operating full time, we have been able to make a lot of progress in the aero department, so almost every aero feature on the car will have been revised. The car we race with in Melbourne however will just be the start of a continuous cycle of aerodynamic improvement over the season.”
The development has largely been facilitated by a significant restructure of Force India’s technical department at the end of 2007, the release added.