Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsForce India

Perez: Force India VJM08 needs development

Sergio Perez says Force India’s VJM08 “needs development” but is confident the team has the basis of a competitive car this year.

Force India launched its 2015 car late and as a result the VJM08 is similar to last year’s offering. Deputy team principal Bob Fernley told F1i the team will launch what is effectively a B-spec car around the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, and Perez says he can feel the need for upgrades to help put Force India firmly in the midfield.

“I am looking forward to going racing again after our first run in Melbourne,” Perez said. “We are still learning a lot about the full potential of the VJM08 and every time we hit the track we are going to find some improvements.

“We are aware of the work needed to make our car more competitive, but we also know it is going to take time. The car feels really promising but it needs development and I look forward to getting some upgrades soon.”

Team principal Vijay Mallya agrees with Perez, saying the first few small updates will be introduced at Sepang this weekend.

“Despite scoring well in Melbourne, we know the VJM08 is only just beginning its development journey and that we need to add performance if we want to finish consistently in the points,” Mallya said. “There will be some small tweaks this weekend before bigger steps can be made during the European season.”

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.