Force India at Jerez

The Force India Formula One Team resumed its VJM03 testing programme at the Circuito de Jerez today as the first of a four day programme got underway. New test and reserve driver Paul di Resta got his first taste of the 2010 challenger in the morning before Adrian Sutil took over for the afternoon's running.
As was the case for last week's test, running was punctuated by heavy rain storms and cloudy skies with high winds also a disrupting factor. However in a productive day working through set-up and control systems checks, Paul completed over 300km while Adrian covered 120km, bringing the day's mileage to more than 450km.
Paul di Resta
Today was my first run in the new car and it felt pretty good. The objective was to get as much running as possible and we managed over 300km, which was a great effort, particularly given the bad weather conditions we had over the morning. It seemed to be drying out and then the rain would return again so you were in a sort of no man's land with the tyres. Even with this type of weather though I could get an impression of the car. It seems stable and good all round, a genuine improvement on the car I drove last year. I'll be back in the car in Barcelona and am looking forward to it already.
Adrian Sutil
It was a short session for me today. I only started my first run just before 4pm when the track was drying in places but there were still a few damp patches on the racing line. We did two long runs on the slick tyres but in the mixed conditions it was hard to get a view on the car. But at this stage all running is good and we're ready to go out again tomorrow to get some more mileage and data on the car.
Dominic Harlow, chief race engineer
Paul completed 76 laps today in unsettled conditions to get his first experience of the VJM03. He also carried out some control systems tests and ran wet, intermediate and dry tyres. During a very windy afternoon Adrian took over the car for a short programme in predominantly dry conditions continuing set-up development from last week's test. The VJM03 ran reliably all day, which gives a good basis for the remaining three days.

Force India announces technical department restructure

The Force India Formula One Team today announced a restructure to its technical department ahead of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship season, due to James Key, technical director, leaving the team to pursue new opportunities. Mark Smith, formerly design director, will now become technical director and will assume responsibility for the entire mechanical and aerodynamic design of the team's challengers.

James has been a long-standing member of the team, first joining Jordan Grand Prix in 1998 as a data engineer before progressing to test engineer and later senior race engineer for Takuma Sato. In 2003, James joined the aerodynamic group and was then promoted to head of vehicle science towards the end of that year before becoming technical director in 2005.

Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal, said,

'We would like to thank James for his commitment and drive over his 12 years with the team. Over this period he has seen four changes of owners, but his consistency and drive have enabled the team to field cars that have often belied our small size. We wish him every success in his future endeavours. For Force India, we will now undergo a slight restructure where Mark will take responsibility for the whole design process and various departments within the drawing office and we are confident we will have both the resources and the personnel to continue our strong progress shown at the end of 2009.'

James Key commented,

'I have spent the majority of my motor racing career within the team and although a difficult decision I felt the time was right for me to move on to new opportunities. After four owners and various changes and challenges, to field a car that got a pole position and a podium seemed like a culmination of all the efforts. While I'm sad to leave a team I know so well, one which has allowed me to realise many ambitions within F1, I'm looking forward to a new start. The VJM03 is now up and running and early indications are good, I wish Force India all the very best for the next and coming seasons.'

Mark Smith will now assume the role of technical director with responsibility for all of the technical departments. Mark was one of the first Jordan employees and progressed through the team's ranks to become joint chief designer. After 11 years with Jordan, Mark joined Renault Formula 1 as chief designer before joining Red Bull Racing in 2005, initially as deputy technical director and then technical director. Mark re-joined Force India in November 2007.

Liuzzi starts final Force1 India test in Barcelona

Barcelona test report - day one of four
25 February 2010 - Tonio Liuzzi was on driving duty for Force India on the opening day of the four day test at the Circuit de Catalunya, the final test ahead of the start of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.
Weather conditions were significantly better than the previous two weeks' tests in Jerez and Tonio was able to complete 65 laps without major issue. Several red flag periods interrupted some of the team's planned running, however his best lap of 1:24.064 was still the sixth quickest of the day. With track conditions relatively 'green' Tonio's programme principally concentrated on pit stop practice and drills and general set-up work.
Tonio will remain in the car for a second day tomorrow before Adrian Sutil takes over on Saturday.
Tonio Liuzzi
Once we realised the track was really green and not good enough to conduct some useful testing, we concentrated on set-up and pit stop practice to get back into the rhythm of a race weekend. Overall it was quite OK but we concentrated a lot on the pit stop practice to get the guys back up to speed. Tomorrow will be where we move to look at performance and long runs so it should be a more representative day regarding the pace of the new car.
Dominic Harlow, chief race engineer
The first day of our final pre-season test was concentrated on race team pitstop practice, with simulations of live race stops and various different race scenarios conducted through the day. The circuit conditions weren't particularly good today, and tomorrow will be used to continue our set-up and development programme.