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
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
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
The Comedian 39
9th February 2010, 10:31
The VJM02 side view is like reversed? :S
Chalky
9th February 2010, 11:21
“In the above image the picture of last year’s car has been flipped for ease of comparison.”
The Comedian 39
9th February 2010, 11:25
Oh yea… oops.. I need to wake up. :)
sijs
9th February 2010, 10:38
Really doesn’t matter to me.. its quiet obvious.. great work..
TheGreatCornholio
9th February 2010, 10:42
Nice to see another simple non Red Bull nosed car! Just hope it works on all the circuits.
iceshiel
9th February 2010, 14:12
Wrong! Look closer and you will see a mini-Red Bull nose.
Looks great though. The orange and green is very refreshing.
Hallard
9th February 2010, 15:24
thats not a mini-red bull nose, with its little bumps, its a…dare I say it…toyota TF109 nose!
Tim
9th February 2010, 15:58
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.
Magnificent Geoffrey
9th February 2010, 10:44
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.
BasCB
9th February 2010, 10:45
Thank you for the link to Craig Scarborough’s post, very interesting reading on the details.
BasCB
9th February 2010, 11:05
What if Schumacher gets stuck there, will we believe him in not doing it on purpose? :-)
PJA
9th February 2010, 11:50
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.
ajokay
9th February 2010, 11:53
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.
sato113
9th February 2010, 12:13
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!
Zahir
9th February 2010, 20:50
This years front tyres are smaller then last years but the rears are the same size.
Patrickl
10th February 2010, 12:13
narrower maybe, but the same diameter.
BasCB
9th February 2010, 12:34
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.
BasCB
9th February 2010, 12:58
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.
3 Wheels
9th February 2010, 13:18
Either those measurements are wrong or that side comparison picture is way out.
Pete
9th February 2010, 13:02
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.
Marc Connell
9th February 2010, 13:13
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.
JHunt123
9th February 2010, 13:26
Looks like a freakish mash up of a renault nose + mclaren sides + sauber rear ..
Salut Gilles
9th February 2010, 14:20
It looks like a Renault nose in the side view, but that’s only because the tip of the nose is the same colour as the photo’s background.
Dave
9th February 2010, 14:53
I have to agree with the other posters, I do really like the this year/last year car comparison feature.
Keep up the good work!
Ab Baby
9th February 2010, 15:43
Indeed looks a gr8 car…they hv done a wndrful job…m sure they’ll consistently finish in points this season…
even if they dont…they hv my full backing..coz d team has “INDIA” in its name…
gO iNdIa gO…!!!
Tiomkin
9th February 2010, 17:03
Stunning work Keith, do you plan on doing similar piccys of all the teams cars?
Tomás
9th February 2010, 20:23
Hey Keith;
the differences are indescriptible, not change much…
congratulations for the exellent blog, very good!
i will comment in the nexts posts too…
if you want, visit my blog:
http://theformula1-blog.blogspot.com/
thanks and bye!
Tomás from Brazil
Etienne Peters
9th February 2010, 21:43
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81365
LEAKED LOTUS PHOTO
James
9th February 2010, 23:06
Hmmm, I wonder if Force India have got something here. They’ve focused a lot of attention on the front end of the car, as much of the rear end is taken care of by Mclaren and Mercedes. An outside bet for a race win this year…?
wasiF1
10th February 2010, 2:19
“What we also see on the VJM03 is much simpler sidepods and a McLaren-style undercut air intake plus a ’shark fin’”
If I am not wrong Force India has a technical deal with Mclaren Mercedes.
Rob
10th February 2010, 3:23
What I like to see is the rear sitting a bit higher in readiness for the extra 100 or so kilos of fuel
Harshad Joshi
10th February 2010, 7:31
The cars front chassis dosent look attractive/competitive as the mercedes mgp or the mclaren one. I think theoy should have a sukhoi fighter type curved front nose adapted for f1.
G-force
10th February 2010, 14:32
VJM03 is much more stable than its predeccesor,lot of work has been done o the evolution of the car in respect of the front wing design and the rear .It also has a deal with TCS in fluid dyamics ,so it has an edge over the previous car design.The sidepods are much simpler and straight forward ,the technical partership with Mclaren Mercedes has immensly helped in the development of the Car,Hope to see it regularly in podiums.
onks rs
13th February 2010, 5:53
the 2010 car is very cool in design …new shark fin…much similar to mclaren …so a grt opportunity for force india to score pts this year…
Chaz
28th February 2010, 14:09
I like it and I hope they can deliver…