The Force India VJM01 makes its race debut

The Force India 2008 completed its first laps on the Catalunya circuit in Barcelona this Monday as the start of the season is fast approaching…

However, technical director Mike Gascoyne specified that the late launch of the VJM01 would not be a disadvantage.

The team, formerly Spyker, was bought a few months ago by Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya and Dutchmen Jan and Michiel Mol.

« During the winter, we worked with the new drivers as soon as it was possible. We certainly demonstrated a whole new level of competitiveness, which will be beneficial for us in the future, » he said in a statement.

There are a lot of ongoing projects, and we will need to be ready for Australia. We will have to be very reliable, especially in the first races, and collect everything we can… » Added Gascoyne.

Force India has recruited former Renault driver Giancarlo Fisichella, aged 35, who has won three Grand Prix races over a career spanning nearly 200 races. Alongside him, a somewhat less experienced teammate in the person of Adrian Sutil.

The Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi, who raced for Toro Rosso last year, has joined the Indian team as a test driver while keeping an eye on a race seat.

Spyker scored a single point with Sutil last year, finishing in 10th position in the championship because McLaren was stripped of all its points due to the infamous espionage affair!

« Last season was very frustrating, but we are now able to move forward from a much more competitive base, » he said.

« Thanks to the new development model, we can hope to start our races from the middle of the grid. »

The new car stems from the Spyker F8-VII that was introduced last September at the Italian Grand Prix. There have been updates in terms of aerodynamics and mechanics since then. All these modifications will be tested on the Catalunya circuit this week.

« From an aerodynamic point of view, there has been a complete overhaul of the car and great progress has been made, » concluded Gascoyne.