BANGKOK, Thailand — Force India is targetting regular points finishes in the 2009 Formula One season, team principal Vijay Mallya said Sunday.
The 2009 car, the VJM02, made its testing debut in Jerez, Spain, on Sunday, with the team eager to get a first gauge on performance with a new Mercedes engine, and McLaren-supplied gearbox and hydraulics.
The team did not get a championship point in its inaugural 2008 season, but billionaire boss Mallya had high expectations for the coming campaign.
“To be brutally honest, I would not be happy if we didn’t show some much improved, and much needed, performance,” Mallya said.
“What we really set out to do over the winter was to put in place structures, procedures and partnerships that would give improvement, but crucially, no excuses.
“I would like to see a strong start, rising to points mid-season and a definite improvement in qualifying. Regular points finishes should be the aim.”
Force India has switched from a Ferrari engine to Mercedes for the 2009 season. It has had a busy offseason adjusting the car for the new drive train, but also to the many changes in regulations for the season ahead.
Along with rule changes to aerodynamics which forced all teams to redesign their chassis, this season will see the return of slick tires and the introduction of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS).
KERS converts the energy created in the action of braking, stores it, and allows it to be used intermittently to provide a power boost when required.
“Our car is fully KERS compliant, but whether we run the system will be decided jointly by Force India, McLaren and Mercedes,” the team’s design director Mark Smith said.
Force India has retained the same driver pairing for 2009, with experienced Italian Giancarlo Fisichella joined by German Adrian Sutil.
Fisichella, who has been in Formula One since 1996, is hoping the technical shake-up will help lift Force India up the grid.
“This year is maybe the biggest change for many years, with KERS, slick tires, downforce and new aero rules, so it’s very exciting,” Fisichella said.
“It would be good to see all the teams mixed up and to be able to fight for points. If the car is good, why not even for the podium?”
Sutil was hoping for greater reliability in the coming season after finishing only seven of the 18 races in 2008.
“If the car is really good, as we all hope it will be, we should hope to get into the points and make the most of it, but right now I don’t want to predict results or say too much, I just want to have a season without any problems and a much higher finish rate,” Sutil said.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
