Force India was never meant to perform as well as it does. It took over from a string of backmarker teams ten years ago, and has been climbing up the order ever since – from 10th place in 2008, to 9th, 7th, 6th, and 5th, to finish 4th place in last year’s constructors standings.
Now it’s entering its tenth consecutive world championship with the car you see here. Unveiled today at Silverstone is the VJM10, built (just like the latest Williams, Sauber, and Renault chassis) to comply with the new regulations in place for the 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship.
With the big shakeup in the rulebook, Force India says this design is 95 percent different from last year’s. As in the past nine years (following one season under Ferrari power), it packs a Mercedes powertrain, which has given it an edge over other teams.
With Le Mans winner Nico Hülkenberg now departed to the Renault team, Force India has picked up Manor refugee Estenban Ocon to join Sergio Perez behind the wheel this season.
Will the team be able to advance even further up the order with this new car? Or will this mark the beginning of a backwards slide? Only time will tell, and we’ll be watching to find out as the new season gets underway.
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