News from Force India.

[freedom_honda]

this is interesting. they will be using McLaren gearbox. but didn't they just spend millions on their own seamless gearbox? they have only been using it for less than half a season. now THATS a waste of money.

[Michiba]

Perhaps it's just cheaper to have maclaren develop the drivetrain for next season, so they don't have to waste many more millions with future developments of their gearbox.


Anyway, this is a bit left field, but any chance that Gascoyne was relieved of his duties because Macca/M-B didn't want him there? I've got nothing to back this up, but it just occurred to me. I too also wondered why FI would not want to continue with gascoyne.

[shotzski]

A McLaren director has been appointed in a leading role with the Force India team.
With the confirmation of Force India's technical linkup with McLaren-Mercedes on Monday, it also emerged that the Silverstone based team will receive "operational support".
As more details were divulged at a media event at Force India's Northamptonshire headquarters, it became clear that 46-year-old Simon Roberts, McLaren's operations director, will forthwith now work full-time for Force India.

It seems to me that this is the reason why Kolles and Gascoyne were relieved of their positions with in the team. Maybe this is more practical and cheaper, since FI will be getting most if not all, technical and operations support from Mclaren. We'll hear more detailed information soon enough.

[Giblet]

VJ said that even though they had spent all this time and money making their own seamless shift gearbox, that it would still be better to have a bespoke version from someone who has been doing it for a long time.

He would rather have someone else's reliable gearbox then to spend more money developing their own, which is made for a Ferrari engine, and may have difficulty being modified to bolt up to a Merc.

Gascoyne is the most talented designer to keep getting fired.

[ISLAMATRON]

this is interesting. they will be using McLaren gearbox. but didn't they just spend millions on their own seamless gearbox? they have only been using it for less than half a season. now THATS a waste of money.

I agree tremendously, they really had no business making a new car for this year anyway... they had already introduced a new car mid season 2007... they spent alot of money trying to be less dead last.

[GTO]

...and the FIA continues to make technical regulation changes as cost cutting measures.

[timbo]

http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2008/11/ ... s-delayed/

Force India is currently in Barcelona with the other F1 teams to complete a three-day test at the Spanish track. It will be the team's final test with the Ferrari engine and the last test for a while as a team spokesperson confirmed to GPUpdate.net. He said: "The McLaren deal is such a last minute deal that we have to build a completely new car around their engine and unfortunately we don't expect it to be finished any time soon. We'll probably be back on track in February."

It looks like we'd see McLaren Lite, otherwise I think VJ's decision to damp Ferrari engines with a chassis already built around one is plain stupid. So the question is, why would McLaren want it? All previous teams affiliations were very short-lived (Benetton/Ligier, Ferrari/Sauber, Honda/Supper Agury), I think the leading team in the pair wasn't very pleased with the yield of such partnership.