iSport F1 Pitstop: Force India’s f-duct debut in Turkey talks about the team’s determination this season. iSporter Kunal Shah assumes a few things as he dissects press releases from two fiercely competitive teams before the Turkish GP.
I got a press release just before the Turkish GP that got me all thinking. A release from the Force India stables and it was about the Indian team using the controversial, but all important f-duct for the Turkish GP. The first thought of course was – Great! Some good update for a track that demands straight line speed. But the following thoughts were something that I would like to share in this column.
The f-duct was a concept that was introduced by the Mclaren team and they have surely had a fair advantage with this system. Before they even realized, the f-duct was the talk of the paddock with almost all teams out to copy this device or have their own version. Now in F1, you’d rather copy and still call it your ‘own’ version – but leaving that aside, the race to have an f-duct in your car almost seemed like the race last year – to have the double diffuser in your car.
The f-duct hasn’t really given Mclaren an overall advantage on the circuit, but yes they have been rocketing forward on the straights (remember Hamilton on Schumacher in China?). So clearly, the f-duct isn’t something that can guarantee you race wins, like the way the double diffuser did. So the second thought of course was – why the hell is everyone chasing the f-duct? Red Bull included.
Of course, there will surely be more benefit than it meets the eye and hence the run to have the wing-stalling device on the car. So when I read FIF1’s release I was happy to know that they weren’t too far behind from getting the latest on their car. But what also struck me was their pace of development. Ferrari took nearly 3 GPs to bring their version out, Red Bull and Mercedes tried it in Turkey and FIF1 too had it there.
My purpose of mentioning the timing is clearly to highlight the rise of Dr. Mallya’s F1 team. From the backmarkers in 2008, to their first podium in Belgium in 2009 to their first double points finish in 2009, they surely have shown some grit and of course pace on track. But what also baffles me is their off-track speed. The f-duct was brought out by the Force India team almost as quickly and efficiently as the top manufacturer teams.
While it talks good about their commitment to mid-season development of the car it also gives one an insight on their ever improving budgets. The team surely seems to have benefitted from the extra money that their Belgium podium got them. Their pace of development seems on-par with the top teams and if this trend continues, their performance will only better through the season. A brilliant sign indeed, before F1 actually lands in India.
FIF1’s tie-ups with Computational Research Laboratories and Airbus surely seem to have helped them in their aero department. I would love to do an evolution of the VJM03 by the end of the season – mapping the development that they have had on the car and the chassis all of F1 2010. I am sure their development will be way ahead of the other privateer teams and just about matching the pace of the manufacturer teams. And going forward, I am hoping that these alliances only mean that FIF1 will invent a device that the other teams would like to copy and follow – now I wouldn’t bet on that just yet, but with Dr. Mallya at the helm one would be foolish to rule the team out when it comes to innovation.
The other surprising interview was from the Mercedes stables – talking of Ross Brawn contemplating when to give up on their 2010 car and focus on their energies on the 2011 machine. While it’s not unlike F1 teams to do so, I was only glad to hear this from the Merc GP stable for two reasons: first of course being that Michael Schumacher is clearly not too comfortable with a car that was designed keeping Jenson Button and his driving style in mind. An early development cycle for 2011, would mean that Schumacher and the Merc GP team would have more time to get their car right for next year.
The second reason of course being that them giving up on the 2010 challenger could just work in FIF1’s favour – allow us to not only close the gap, but try and overtake them in the championship standings. Now, if we really manage to beat Merc GP in their debut season, it will be one hell of an achievement. A Herculean task indeed, but not out of reach for sure!
Kunal Shah is a former racer and can be contacted on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Read more of Kunal's work here.
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a guest
said:
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... Hii Kunal, Good to see some Indian website working on the Nitty gritty of F1. Now with the turkish GP behind us we need to see if FIf1 can carry on the speed of development. My only concern is that both drivers should show more potential than they are currently in terms of setup and all. Moreover you are forgetting something that Renault is way ahead of force india and is still behind mercedes. So today even if we share engines with Mercedes it is Renault which will be the first target. |
Kunal Shah
said:
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... Hey, thank you for your comment. Well the drivers are the best that there are on the grid and know personally that they take extreme interest on their car setups and pit stop strategies. They are extracting the best from their car as I got to see in Turkey. However, I agree that we will need to keep up the pace as with Renault and Mercedes.  |
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