Year: 2011

Force India became the final team to launch its 2011 Formula Challenger overnight when it released these images of the new VJM04. Cast your minds back to 1991 and you’ll see the Force India team started life as Eddie Jordan’s plaything. The Jordan team went through a few iterations before falling into the seemingly secure control of Indian businessman Vijay Mallya.

In a nice piece of symmetry, 20 years after the debut of the Jordan Grand Prix team, the VJM04 is the first car designed for Force India by new technical director Andrew Green, who was one of the men behind the original Jordan 191.

Green signed up with Force India in the middle of last year and explains some of the changes made to this year’s car, “Everything is different, but visually a lot of it is subtle. The most obvious visual change is that we’ve gone away from a conventional roll-hoop to a blade. This gives us a small packaging improvement compared to a more conventional style. The engine cover is different, in-line with the abolition of the F-duct system. But there are a lot of differences under the skin that people won’t necessarily notice.”

Green has also taken a fresh approach at addressing the team’s weaknesses, “Looking back over the years the cars we have produced here have always struggled at the high downforce tracks – they always been ‘slippery’ cars. We’ve identified a problem, and now we have to fix it, and it means that potentially there’s another strategic aero change coming as well.”

Joining Adrian Sutil in 2011 will be F1 debutant 24-year-old Scotsman Paul di Resta. He’s not setting any unrealistic expectations and hopes to put in a solid performance for his new team in their chase for a top five finish, “I don’t want to say exact targets on record as there are so many factors that can come into play. What I do want to do is to have a positive approach, finish, be consistent and contribute strongly to the team’s overall performance. We’ve got high aims of finishing in a good constructors’ championship position and I know that I’ve got to play my part in this.”

More pics and press material after the break, including Q&A interviews with the Force India’s drivers; Adrian Sutil, Paul di Resta and reserve-driver Nico Hulkenberg. Also available is a YouTube clip featuring Andrew Green talking about the VJM04.

The latest statement from Lotus Renault GP informs us that Robert Kubica is continuing to do well in the days following his surgery. He’ll be in hospital for another two–three weeks and will undergo further operations later this week.

Meanwhile, Kubica’s co-driver Jakub Gerber has hit out at fellow competitors and called for changes to the safety of modern rally cars.

In an interview given outside the hospital where Kubica is recovering Gerber said, “I saw that Robert was squeezed against the barrier, and that’s why I stopped the other car. Then there was another problem, cars that should have stopped, just passed by us.”

Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport Gerber gave an account of what happened, “After skidding, the car leaned against the guard rail and pushed it outwards. Then it crashed against the following guard rail.

“The guard rail pierced through the car and went all the way through it. I immediately saw it was serious, he also had a bad bruise under his eye after hitting the steering wheel. Robert passed out and I exited through the window because the door was stuck.

“The ambulance arrived immediately and then came the firemen. They took over half an hour to pull him out. The first crew didn’t have the shears so they had to wait for another crew. Then the helicopter couldn’t land in that spot, so Robert had to be moved and more time was lost.”

He went on to say the FIA should introduce new safety regulations to improve protection from frontal impact, “That opening [between the two sections of armco] makes no sense. But, most of all, we shouldn’t have cars with so little protection at the front. It’s not the first time a crash like this happens—the Federation should think of something to protect the cockpit.”

As well as the official statement from Lotus Renault GP you can watch an animation of the crash which has just been posted to YouTube.

[Source: autosport & FoxSports | Pics: AP]

HRT has released images of their new F111 Formula One car. Indeed, they’re some of the slickest images we’ve seen so far in 2011. Despite the almost embarrassing call for sponsorship, the F111 otherwise looks great.

Just making the grid last year was the ultimate challenge for HRT. This year, they hope to benefit from that experience, as Colin Kolles, Team Principal of Hispania Racing, explains, “The F111 represents a significant step forward for Hispania Racing. We have made a big improvement for starting our second season in Formula 1 and what you see in our new car confirms Hispania Racing’s commitment to F1.”

It’s no secret that HRT is probably running the tightest budget in F1 and while the new car does feature the adjustable rear wing it’s pleasing to note Jose Ramon Carabante, HRT President, confirmed there will be further updates to follow, “We are very pleased to introduce the first spec of the F111, which means a huge design-effort from our side. This is only a first step as we are planning several updates during the season.”

Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan will fill one of the driver positions for HRT in 2011, while an announcement on the team’s second driver is yet to be made. The F111 will make its track debut during the final test window at Bahrain in early March.