Vijay Mallya says the Force India VJM09 "will look quite different" as a result of an upgrade being introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Force India's chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer told F1i after the Russian Grand Prix the upgrade is similar in size to last year's B-spec car, with a number of new parts to be fitted. Team principal Mallya has confirmed the package will be used on both cars and represents a significant update.
“It’s on schedule to be fitted to both cars ahead of Friday practice," Mallya said. "It’s pretty comprehensive and the car will look quite different.”
With Force India yet to score with both drivers this season, Mallya is hopeful the team will soon see better returns after showing flashes of impressive pace.
“I hope we’ve used up all of our bad luck already! We’ve yet to see how we perform in a clean, trouble-free race without safety cars, red flags or accidents.
"Despite not realising our potential in Sochi, we took encouragement from our qualifying and race pace: the car is improving and we’ve got a good base on which to build. There are 17 races to go and I’m confident the best is yet to come. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
Technical focus: Halo or Aeroscreen?
F1i Classic: Schumacher's "5th gear only" signature drive at the 1994 Spanish GP