Force India reveals its VJM08

Force India has finally released a picture of its long-delayed 2015 car.

Amid rumours of financial and supplier trouble, the Silverstone based team was missing at the first Jerez test, and ran only with its 2014 car in Barcelona last week.

Now, the embattled Vijay Mallya-run team has announced that its VJM08 - revealed only in the form of a single, computer-generated image - is set to debut not on the opening day of the final Barcelona test on Thursday, but one day later.

"The VJM08 will arrive in Barcelona on Friday morning and the final set up will take place in the garage at the track," said chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer on Wednesday.

"We are aiming to get out on Friday and the new car will run as much as possible over the weekend."

In an interview published by the team, Szafnauer did not elaborate on the 2015 car’s long delay except to say its build had "progressed well over the last few days".

"We have seen a tremendous effort from every department over the last few months to get us to this stage and we’re looking forward to seeing the car take to the track later this week," he added.

Otmar, can you sum up last week’s test in Barcelona with the VJM07?

“It was a straightforward and productive week, with the primary focus to learn about the 2015 tyres. Because we know the 2014 car so well, we could focus purely on tyre evaluation on a range of different fuel loads. We used every dry compound that was available last week and all of that information will be transferrable to our 2015 programme.”

The team worked with Pascal Wehrlein for the first time. Did he settle in well?

“Everyone was impressed with Pascal. He took a very mature approach to the test and didn’t put a foot wrong. It’s always interesting to receive feedback from a new driver and Pascal was very detailed and accurate with his feedback. Running him alongside our race drivers provided a nice yardstick for data comparisons.”

What can you tell us about the VJM08 car build process?

“It has progressed well over the last few days and the car has now been fired up at the factory. That’s always the key moment when the car truly comes to life. We have seen a tremendous effort from every department over the last few months to get us to this stage and we’re looking forward to seeing the car take to the track later this week.”

When do you expect the VJM08 to appear on track this week?

“The VJM08 will arrive in Barcelona on Friday morning and the final set up will take place in the garage at the track. We are aiming to get out on Friday and the new car will run as much as possible over the weekend.”

Photos :