Force India VJM03 and VJM02 compared
Force India say their VJM03 is a development of last year’s car. They hope will be just as strong on high- and medium-downforce tracks as the VJM02 was on low-downforce circuits.
Have a look at how the two cars compare with these side-by-side comparisons.
Front
Force India VJM03 and VJM02 compared (click to enlarge)
The above image is scaled approximately and the angles are slightly different, so beware of using it to draw any conclusions about differences in dimensions.
But it shows up some of the key differences between the VJM03 and its predecessor very clearly, particularly the wider, R29-style nose on the new car and the much smaller sidepod apertures.
The more sophisticated front wing is similar to the version introduced in the second half of last year by the team, which contributed to their step forward in pace at tracks like Spa and Monza.
Side
Force India VJM03 and VJM02 compared (click to enlarge)
In the above image the picture of last year’s car has been flipped for ease of comparison. The images have been scaled so the rear tyre diameters match.
As with most of the other 2010 cars, it’s clear to see the increase in wheelbase length. What we also see on the VJM03 is much simpler sidepods and a McLaren-style undercut air intake plus a ’shark fin’.
Have a look at Craig Scarborough’s post for more on the VJM03.
Force India VJM03 launch
typo error: “Force India VJM02 and VJM02 compared” caption on both pics.
Fixed, thanks.
The VJM02 side view is like reversed? :S
“In the above image the picture of last year’s car has been flipped for ease of comparison.”
Oh yea… oops.. I need to wake up.
Really doesn’t matter to me.. its quiet obvious.. great work..
Nice to see another simple non Red Bull nosed car! Just hope it works on all the circuits.
Wrong! Look closer and you will see a mini-Red Bull nose.
Looks great though. The orange and green is very refreshing.
thats not a mini-red bull nose, with its little bumps, its a…dare I say it…toyota TF109 nose!
It’s more like the VJM02 nose than the TF109 – look at the side views above.
The TF109 and VJM02 noses were fairly similar in shape, but the Toyota’s nose was much shorter than the Force India’s.
Thanks for all these comparison images. It seems the plan for the teams this year is to take the 2009 car, stretch it a bit at the front, increase the fuel tank size, add a shark-fin and watch the points coming rollin’ in.
Thank you for the link to Craig Scarborough’s post, very interesting reading on the details.
What if Schumacher gets stuck there, will we believe him in not doing it on purpose?
I am really liking these comparisons between the 2009 and 2010 cars, thanks.
If they want some ways for F1 too become more fan friendly they should make sure all teams release comparable pictures of their new cars when they launch them, such as a side view, front view and an overhead view. I realise this would never happen though as teams try to keep things secret and the launch cars often don’t have all the latest aero pieces on anyway.
They were very lumpy and bumpy sidepods on last year’s FI. Glad they’ve been smoothed out for this year, as the VJM03 looks like a much tidier car.
nice pics keith.
just a thought though, when doing side-on or top down comparisons, i think you should scale the cars to the front tyres, not the rear ones. scaling so the rear tyres match give the impression the 2010 cars have longer noses!
This years front tyres are smaller then last years but the rears are the same size.
narrower maybe, but the same diameter.
I like this idea too, teams having to give some knowhow about their cars at launch.
What if FOTA agreed to do a common launch event:
1. Give each team half a day for live presentation at some location.
2. Presentation of the teams in the same order as the teams finished last year
3. Immediately after the presentations or even better before them, the teams would give a datasheet with pictures, real technical data (wheelbase, …) and insight in design paths chosen.
that way we would understand far more of what they did and why. During the season we can see hwo got it rigt.
Really a shame, this is not going to happen, but with maybe furter limitations on development during the season, it might be doable. Then they can repeat this presentation at 1/2 season or 1/3.
Here:http:http://www.forceindiaf1.com/index/page_id/256
are some technical details on the force india car.
Interesting to see the dimensions:
Overall length 4900mm
Wheel base 3500mm
This car would even shorter than the Renault and a whole 600 mm shorter than the Virgin (Ferrari as well as McLaren ar huge as well)!
It’s wheel base is however some 200 mm longer than the Virgin (stated to be approx. 3200 mm). Therefore this car should be good at tight tracks?
I allso noted, that the cars have different track widths. I thought this was defined in the rules as fixed.
Either those measurements are wrong or that side comparison picture is way out.
I’m really enjoying the coverage and analysis of the cars this testing season! My understanding is starting to expand (at least a little). This is all very fascinating.
Looks ALOT longer, higher and meaner
hope it does well and i hope they get a few podiums this year! they tried so hard last year and got a podium 
they deserve alot more.
Looks like a freakish mash up of a renault nose + mclaren sides + sauber rear ..