Force India s 2008 car, the VJM01, has made it s track debut at Barcelona s Circuit de Catalunya.
With less than three weeks to go to the start of the 2008 season, some have questioned whether the car s late appearance will hinder the team however technical head Mike Gascoyne does not believe it will be a disadvantage.
“Over the winter we have really been working with the new drivers and we’ve certainly shown a new level of competitiveness, which is something that will benefit us going forward,” he explained. “There has been a lot of work going on in the background and we should look to go to Australia and be very reliable, especially in the first few races and pick up whatever we can,”
The VJM01 is based on the Spyker F8-VII that was introduced at 2007 s Italian Grand Prix, although the team have made several aerodynamic and mechanical changes to the car. Spyker finished the 2007 season with just one point in second to last place thanks to the disqualification of McLaren, and the team are hoping that the new car will be more competitive.
Last year was very frustrating but now we are in a position to move forward from a much more competitive baseline,” said Gascoyne continued. “Certainly you will see that with the next new development we should look to racing properly with the midfield as soon as possible.
“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.”
