Force India launch the VJM08 in Mexico, but won’t run it in Barcelona

Force India has unveiled its striking new colour scheme in an event in Mexico on Wednesday, ahead of a Formula 1 season where it is targeting more podium finishes.

Although the team’s new VJM08 will not make its debut until the second pre-season test at Barcelona, the team has completed a rebranding as part of a wider involvement from Mexican partners.

The new colour scheme is predominantly silver and black – with flashes of orange. The car unveiled also featured a 2015 specification nose.

In an interview with the media at the launch of the car, Force India's Team principal Vijay Mallya said he hoped that 2015 would give an opportunity for Force India to challenge the big teams again, after it came close to beating McLaren last year in the constructors’ championship. Mallya stated the following:-

'The 2015 car is a refinement of what we learned in 2014. Another major step forward is the technology change, in that we are now using a 60 per cent windtunnel in Cologne, Germany which is a far bigger step than we have ever taken before.

'Traditionally we have been in Brackley, England, where we used to develop our car with a 50 per cent model and an outdated windtunnel. With this new and important tool available to use, we hope the 2015 challenger will really prove its worth in competing with the big boys of F1 when we start the European season.

'We are lucky to have two exceptional drivers who will hopefully steer the Sahara Force India challenger to the front of the grid, and hopefully a few podiums during the current year.'

I have to say that the livery of the VJM08 is very striking and looks extremely beautiful yet aggressive at the same time. From what Mallya has stated in his interview at the launch today, it is clear that he believes that this car is an evolution from last season.

He believes that the team have achieved this from using a more up to date windtunnel in Germany especially alongside the existing windtunnel in Brackley to develop and work on the 2015 car, shows for me just how Force India are seriously taking this season and wanting to maintain what they achieved last season on the track especially in the early part of the season.

It is clear for all to see that Mallya wants the team to build upon what they achieved in their best season in the sport last year and would like to challenge their rivals once again as quickly as possible when the season gets underway in March in Australia. You could also argue that Mallya hopes that using the windtunnel in Germany proves that the decision they made was correct and that they can take another step forward performance wise this season on the track.

Overall, I would have to agree with Mallya and I do believe that their driver line up of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez does not only bring experience, but it also brings potential. Both drivers have the experience and the leadership qualities to push and drive the team forward while also giving technical feedback on how the car is performing.

And if Force India can give them the tools to deliver, then Hulkenberg and Perez will do if everything comes together in a race weekend for them. We have seen that last season in Bahrain when Perez gave the team its first ever podium since the Belgian Grand Prix in 2009. That should be all the motivation that the team need and a platform for them to build upon too.

If Force India can do that for both of their drivers, then I do believe that the team could spring a surprise or two this season and could bring home some podium finishes. 2015 has to be the year that Force India achieve this objective and also Hulkenberg gets his first podium in the sport too. But the future is looking incredibly bright for Force India where anything could be possible if an opportunity presents itself in the season ahead.

Force India delay running its 2015 car until the second test in Barcelona

On Tuesday, it was announced that Force India will run its 2014 car in Jerez and wait until the second test in Barcelona before unveiling its 2015 challenger.

The team is set to unveil its 2015 livery in Mexico on Wednesday but will use the VJM07 between February 1-4. It will then wait until the February 19-22 test in Barcelona to debut the VJM08 but Force India does not think it is a hindrance to wait so long before switching to its 2015 car.

Lotus missed the first test last year and spent the whole season on the back foot but in an interview with the media yesterday, Force India’s technical director Andrew Green says that was a unique situation as it was the first season of the new V6 turbo era. Green stated the following:-

'There is an argument to say you are much better off using those three weeks to move the car along as far as development is concerned, and then rolling out at Barcelona.

'There are advantages and disadvantages to both. It’s not clear-cut like it was [in 2014]. [Last year] you had to do the first test with the new power unit and the new chassis; you just had to get miles on the car. It’s not that critical [this season].'

As Green has stated in his interview yesterday, he believes that the three weeks the team will be saving by running only the 2014 car instead of this year's car will benefit them in the long run after weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of making this decision. This has raised many pundits and fans questioning why Force India has undergone this direction and I will give my thoughts as to why they have done this.

Firstly, I can understand why Green has decided to take this approach as there is no real change towards the technical regulations this season and it's really an evolution from 2014 and the team have a lot to data that will help them prepare the car as much as possible for 2015.

But the disadvantage is that they will not know thoroughly how their 2015 car performs on the track compared to their rivals who will be using the 2015 car throughout the four pre-season tests but Green believes this risk will help them as they work behind the factory on ensuring this year's car as best as it can be as soon as its unleashed onto the track.

Further on in his interview yesterday, Green also thinks the team will benefit from delaying the introduction of its new challenger as it assesses the lessons learned at the end of last season. Green added the following:-

'It means the things we tested and learned about at the last races and in the [Abu Dhabi] test could actually get on the car for the start of next year, rather than it missing the boat and ending up on as an upgrade. Or even not on an upgrade, because if you don’t have the latitude to design those parts in, you box yourself in and they never go on. The later you can leave it, the better.

'In the last few weeks [of 2014], we were on quite a steep learning curve, which makes you think you should hold back. It would be a much harder decision if the tyres were going to be proper 2015 race tyres at Jerez, but because they’re not it is a bit of a shakedown test.'

To me personally, I don't think many pundits and fans would disagree entirely with what Green has stated in his interview yesterday. It is clear that Green and Force India believe that taking the extra three weeks before launching the 2015 car at the second Barcelona test is the best approach for them in order to fully understand, learn from the mistakes of 2014 and develop what they learnt from the post-race test session in Abu Dhabi last season.

I do believe that many fans would understand that. But Green believes the fact that the teams will not be testing the 2015 tyres at the sessions has only strengthened the decision he and the team have made and I would have to agree with him if the 2015 tyres were the tyres being used in the pre-season tests, things would be very different indeed.

But overall, many pundits and fans may not understand why Force India under the leadership of Green have decided to take this decision to delay running the 2015 car until the second test session in Barcelona next month. I can understand both the advantages and disadvantages of doing so, but all we can do is respect the decision made by the team and hope that it pays off for them this season by having a consistent, reliable and competitive car that they challenge their rivals for strong points finishes on a regular basis.