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Jan
22nd

F1: Sahara Force India officially reveals its VJM07 (+photo)

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From press release

Sahara Force India revealed its dynamic new look today, offering a first impression of the new VJM07, which will be presented next week à Jerez.

The new livery brings a fresh trackside image for the team with the introduction of black alongside the traditional colours of saffron, white and green.

“The VJM07 looks stunning and the new livery reflects the way Sahara Force India is evolving,” says Vijay Mallya. “I've always believed our cars have been the most eye-catching, but adding black as a main colour gives us a fierce new look.”

Sahara Force India F1 Team VJM07
VJM07. (Photo: Sahara Force India F1 Team)

Key to the new look is the introduction of several commercial partners. The logo of telecommunications brand, Claro, appears on the engine cover and signals the start of a multi-year deal with the famous Mexican brand. There will be prominent Claro branding on the drivers' suits and team kit.

The rear wing end plate now includes branding from Roshfrans, the lubricant oils specialists, following last week's announcement of a multi-year partnership with the team.

The new livery also sees branding from Astana, a foundation that supports sporting initiatives by promoting the capital city of Kazakhstan. The Astana logo is positioned on the side of the VJM07's nose.

“It's been a busy winter for us on the technical and commercial front,” explains Vijay. “When I founded the team my first ambition was to launch the first Indian team on the grid, but the next stage in our evolution is to develop a global brand. I think that ambition is reflected in the partners we are working with and our world class driver line-up. It certainly feels as though there is the potential for 2014 to be our strongest season yet.”

As well as new colours, the changes beneath the skin of the VJM07 are even more extensive due to the new technical regulations. “The new rules have presented us with a huge challenge, but I'm very proud of the approach we have taken and the direction of the technical team,” says Vijay. “It will be fascinating to see how different teams have interpreted the rules and at this stage it's impossible to predict who has done the best job.”

Technical Director, Andrew Green, is quick to emphasise just how different the VJM07 is compared to its predecessor: “Almost every single part is a new design, from the front wing right back to the diffuser. The genetics of the VJM07 still lie in the 2013 car, but we've had to achieve the same results in a slightly different way.”

Andrew says accommodating the power unit was the biggest challenge: “It's been a massive job to accommodate all the changes to the power unit - it's the biggest change I've witnessed in the sport since I started in 1990. Cooling has been the biggest challenge with most of last summer taken up trying to understand the cooling requirements of the power unit, and how best to optimise it in the chassis.”

COMPARING THE 2013 AND THE 2014 CARS

We here compare the 2013 VJM06 to the 2014 VJM07 (the photo of the 2013 car needed to be flopped so both cars looked in the same direction).

2013 VJM06 (Photo: Force India)
2013 VJM06 (Photo: Force India)

2014 VJM07 (Photo: Force India)
2014 VJM07 (Photo: Force India)


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