Category | Formula One | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Constructor | Force India | ||||||||||
Designer(s) | James Key (Technical Director) Mark Smith (Design Director) Ian Hall (Chief Designer) Bruce Eddington (Chief Engineer, Composites) Dan Carpenter (Chief Engineer, Mechanical Design) Simon Gardner (Head of R&D) Richard Frith (Head of Vehicle Science) Simon Phillips (Head of Aerodynamics) | ||||||||||
Predecessor | Force India VJM01 | ||||||||||
Successor | Force India VJM03 | ||||||||||
Technical specifications | |||||||||||
Chassis | Carbon fibre composite monocoque with Zylon legality side anti-intrusion panels. | ||||||||||
Suspension (front) | Aluminium MMC uprights with carbon fibre composite wishbones, trackrod and pushrod. Inboard chassis mounted torsion springs, dampers and anti-roll bar assembly. | ||||||||||
Suspension (rear) | Aluminium MMC uprights with carbon fibre composite wishbones, trackrod and pushrod. Inboard gearbox mounted torsion springs, dampers and anti-roll bar assembly. | ||||||||||
Length | 4900mm | ||||||||||
Height | 950mm | ||||||||||
Axle track | 1480mm (front) 1420mm (rear) | ||||||||||
Wheelbase | 3200mm | ||||||||||
Engine | Mercedes-Benz FO 108W 2.4L V8, naturally aspirated, mid-mounted | ||||||||||
Transmission | McLaren, 7 forward gears + 1 reverse, semi-automatic | ||||||||||
Weight | 605kg (with driver, by regulations) | ||||||||||
Fuel | Mobil High Performance Unleaded (5.75% bio fuel) | ||||||||||
Lubricants | Mobil 1 – for higher performance, lower friction and better wear resistance | ||||||||||
Tyres | Bridgestone with Forged wheels to Force India specification | ||||||||||
Competition history | |||||||||||
Notable entrants | Force India F1 Team | ||||||||||
Notable drivers | 20. Adrian Sutil [1] 21. Giancarlo Fisichella [2] 21. Vitantonio Liuzzi | ||||||||||
Debut | 2009 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
Last event | 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | ||||||||||
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The Force India VJM02 was Force India's Formula One car for the 2009 Formula One season. It was revealed in a low-key press event, after the car's first test at the Silverstone Circuit, on February 28, 2009, before a public test at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain the following day. [3] [4] The Northamptonshire-based team's car is decorated in the colours of the Indian flag, and was driven by the same drivers as in 2008 – Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil. [3] [5]
The VJM02 was the first British-based foreign F1 car to utilize ExxonMobil fuel and lubricants as Mobil brand, in which Esso and Exxon was used on Red Bull RB13 8 years later along with Mobil from 2017, as they are currently ExxonMobil brands from 1999. The VJM02 was also the first Mercedes-powered non-McLaren Formula One car since the Sauber C13 in the 1994 season.
Two men instrumental in the early design of the VJM02, chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne and team principal Colin Kolles, were released from their contracts in late 2008, after a conflict with team owner Vijay Mallya. [6] The team decided late in development to change from a Ferrari to a Mercedes engine, along with McLaren gearboxes and hydraulics. [7] Adapting to these new components required a minor redesign of several parts of the car, including the suspension, side-pods and the rear aerodynamics. [7] In making such a late switch, the team chose to forfeit testing time in favour of development time, but were confident that the change gave them a better car than would otherwise have been the case. [7] The car also had a livery change, which turned from a white, red and gold paintjob, to a white, green and orange livery, which are the colours of the Flag of India, to note their Hindi heritage.
At the 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix, a revised floor and diffuser for the VJM02 were introduced, as well as an upgraded front wing and reprofiled sidepods. Driver Giancarlo Fisichella welcomed the upgrades, claiming the car's current lack of downforce will be addressed by the new modifications. [8] The team brought further updates at the 2009 European Grand Prix, which worked very well, giving the team their first podium finish at Spa, a day after Fisichella scored an unexpected pole position.
New rules in place for the 2009 season require cars to have narrower and higher rear wings and wider and lower front wings, designed to reduce air disturbance to following cars and hence make overtaking easier. [9] [10] Slick tyres will be re-introduced into Formula One, after being absent since 1998. [11] This will increase the VJM02's tyre grip by about 20%. [11]
The VJM02 had the option to feature a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), which allows energy which would otherwise be wasted while braking to be re-used in set amounts per lap, via a boost button on the driver's steering wheel. The energy is stored in either a battery or a flywheel. [11] This is the result of new rules for the 2009 season. [11] The VJM02 was supposed to use the same system from the McLaren MP4-24, however Force India did not use it during the season.
Overall, the VJM02’s performance was almost as poor as last season’s, only getting two points finishes, which ended up with them 9th on the constructors championship . [12]
Despite this, those two points finishes were remarkable: in Belgium, Fisichella got a surprise first pole position for the team and eventually finished second behind Kimi Räikkönen, which eventually gave him a fill-in spot in Ferrari in place of the injured Felipe Massa (Vitantonio Liuzzi being his replacement), [13] while Sutil managed a fourth place and a fastest lap in the next race, the Italian Grand Prix. [14] [15]
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Points | WCC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | Force India Formula One Team | Mercedes FO108W V8 | B | AUS | MAL | CHN | BHR | ESP | MON | TUR | GBR | GER | HUN | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | BRA | ABU | 13 | 9th | |
Sutil | 9 | 17 | 17† | 16 | Ret | 14 | 17 | 17 | 15 | Ret | 10 | 11 | 4 | Ret | 13 | Ret | 17 | ||||||
Fisichella | 11 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 9 | Ret | 10 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 2 | |||||||||||
Liuzzi | Ret | 14 | 14 | 11 | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||
Sources: [16] [17] |
† Driver failed to finish, but was classified as they had completed >90% of the race distance.
Giancarlo Fisichella, also known as Fisico, Giano or Fisi, is an Italian professional racing driver, also captain of the official Nazionale Piloti association football team. He has driven in Formula One for Minardi, Jordan, Benetton, Sauber, Renault, Force India and Ferrari. Since then he has driven for AF Corse in their Ferrari 458 GTE at various sportscar events, becoming twice a Le Mans 24 Hour class winner, and a GT class winner of the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. He was also Ferrari's F1 reserve driver for 2010.
Paul di Resta is a British racing driver from Scotland, competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot Sport in their LMH entry. He drove in Formula One for Force India from 2011 to 2013, and became a reserve driver for the Williams F1 team in 2016, driving a single race for them as a substitute driver in 2017. A former Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) and Formula 3 Euro Series champion, di Resta did not secure a Formula One seat for 2014, instead rejoining Mercedes to race again in DTM. He is currently a reserve F1 driver for McLaren for the 2022 season, and a former commentator for Sky Sports' coverage of F1.
Adrian Sutil is a German racing driver who raced in Formula One for seven seasons: from 2007–2011, then 2013–2014. He drove for the Spyker F1 Team, Force India F1 Team and the Sauber F1 Team. He was also the reserve driver for the Williams F1 Team in 2015.
The 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 63rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 60th Formula One World Championship which was contested over 17 events commencing with the Australian Grand Prix on 29 March and ending with the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 1 November.
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The 2008 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 6 July 2008 at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, England. It was the ninth race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. The race was held over 60 laps with a practice and qualifying round preceding the race.
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The 2008 Turkish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 11 May 2008 at the Istanbul Racing Circuit, Tuzla, Turkey. The 58-lap race, the fifth of the 2008 Formula One World Championship, was won by Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team from pole position. Lewis Hamilton finished second in a McLaren, with Kimi Räikkönen third in the second Ferrari.
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The 2008 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 8 June 2008 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the 7th race of the 2008 Formula One season. The 70-lap race was won by Robert Kubica for the BMW Sauber team after starting from second position. Kubica’s teammate Nick Heidfeld finished second with David Coulthard third in a Red Bull; taking the final podium of his F1 career. Lewis Hamilton, who started from pole position, failed to finish the race, retiring on lap 19 after crashing into the back of Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari car in the pit lane.
The 2008 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 22 June 2008 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, France. This race would be the last French Grand Prix for a decade, before returning in 2018 at Circuit Paul Ricard. The 70-lap race event, the eighth of the 2008 Formula One World Championship, was won by Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team starting from second position. Kimi Räikkönen, who started from pole position, finished second in the other Ferrari car; Jarno Trulli was third in a Toyota.
The 2008 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 September 2008 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza, Italy. It was the 14th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Future four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel for the Toro Rosso team took a maiden victory, winning the 53-lap race from a maiden pole position. Heikki Kovalainen finished second in a McLaren, and Robert Kubica third in a BMW Sauber.
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The 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was the seventeenth and final Formula One motor race of the 2009 Formula One season. It took place on 1 November 2009 at the 5.554 kilometres (3.451 mi) Hermann Tilke-designed Yas Marina Circuit. It was the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and also the first ever day-night Grand Prix.
The 2009 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 30 August 2009 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, near the village of Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium. It was the 12th race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race was contested over 44 laps, with an overall race distance of 308.052 km (191.415 mi). The race was won by 2007 world champion Kimi Räikkönen of Ferrari after starting from sixth on the grid. Giancarlo Fisichella of Force India came second after starting from the team's first and only pole position. Sebastian Vettel came third after starting from eighth on the grid.
The 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 66th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 63rd FIA Formula One World Championship, a motor racing series for Formula One cars, recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) – the governing body of motorsport – as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship was contested over twenty rounds, which started in Australia on 18 March and ended in Brazil on 25 November. The 2012 season saw the return of the United States Grand Prix, which was held at the Circuit of the Americas, a purpose-built circuit in Austin, Texas. After being cancelled in 2011 due to civil protests, the Bahrain Grand Prix also returned to the calendar.
The Force India VJM06 is a Formula One racing car designed and built by the Force India team for use in the 2013 season where it was driven by Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil, who returned to the team after spending the 2012 season out of the sport. The car was launched on 1 February 2013 at the team's base near the Silverstone Circuit, and is complete redesign of the previous year's car.