VJM01 makes its track bow

Force India's new VJM01 made its track debut at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona on Monday.
The VJM01 - which is based on the B-spec F8-VII that Force India's predecessor, Spyker, used in 2007 - was launched at the beginning of the month and the team hope the optimised mechanical and aerodynamic packages represents a significant step forward.
"We have carried the chassis over from 2007 to 2008, but the car we run at the Australian Grand Prix will have numerous aerodynamic and mechanical updates, which we will be testing from 25 - 27 February at Barcelona before the first race," Force India chief technical officer, Mike Gascoyne, told the team's website.
"Aerodynamically, there has been a complete rework of the car. With our two wind tunnels in Brackley and Italy now operating full time, we have been able to make a lot of progress in the aero department, so almost every aero feature on the car will have been revised. The car we race with in Melbourne however will just be the start of a continuous cycle of aerodynamic improvement over the season.
"We are looking at significant improvements in the rear suspension and also some systems to improve reliability from last year. The B-spec gearbox we introduced was always aimed at four races, and obviously we had the benefit of testing it at the final races of the year. We've now run many miles on that gearbox and we are very confident that we are very reliable in this area for 2008.
Gascoyne also played down suggestions that the team's decision to start testing only a few weeks before the first race in Melbourne will backfire.
"Over the winter we have really been working with the new drivers, and we've certainly shown a new level of competitiveness, which is something that will benefit us going forward. There has been a lot of work going on in the background and we should look to go to Australia and be very reliable, especially in the first few races and pick up whatever we can," he added.
"Last year was very frustrating, but now we are in a position to move forward from a much more competitive baseline. Certainly you will see that with the new development we should look to racing properly with the midfield as soon as possible.
"We've been testing new parts and looking at reliability."