Force India technical director Andrew Green admitted the nose of the new Force India VJM07 is the “stand-out” feature on the car.
Amid speculation over the designs of the 2014 cars Force India only showed the nose of their new car in profile when it was revealed today.
“The nose is a stand-out,” said Green, “but from the nose backwards it looks quite similar [to last year’s car].”
However Green added the design was likely to change once the team begins testing.
“Our nose is a launch spec and later we will have an updated front end of the car, which potentially is quite different.
“We had to take quite a pragmatic view of it and say we’ve got to go testing so we’ve got to get a car out of the door. As much as we want to push the boundaries of the impact structure, because we know how important they are for the whole car, we don’t have the resources to push it to the limit in our first iteration, so we need a banker. The nose that is on the launch car is a banker.
“We’ve got ourselves a car that we can go testing and racing with. Several weeks ago we started pushing the design boundaries because we think there’s performance in it. There are new concepts coming through.”
Green added a lot of work had gone into recovering the downforce lost by the narrowing of the front wing, which regulations have cut in size by 150mm this year.
“The front wing change is significant,” said Green, “it’s a completely different concept for 2014”.
“Visually it’s one of the biggest changes. That was a big task, rebuilding all those aerodynamic structures from the front to the back to complement the smaller rear wing.”
The regulations have forced further changes at the back of the car as well: “The loss of the lower rear wing, or beam wing, leads to a significant loss of performance.”
“That lower wing helped connect the diffuser to the top wing and gave those two areas a lot of support. Without it, it’s become very difficult to extract performance and it’s going to be quite a tricky area to keep stable. So there was quite a dramatic loss in headline downforce numbers, while there was also a drop in drag, which has fallen quite dramatically as well.”
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Image © Force India
Magnificent Geoffrey (@magnificent-geoffrey)
22nd January 2014, 9:27
I’m worried that with all the dramatic changes this year to power units, fuel efficiency and downforce, the only thing people are going to focus on this regarding the new cars this year is how the noses look.
Sure, they might not look very pretty, but I really hope we can all focus on the substance of these new machines and not just the style.
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
22nd January 2014, 9:41
I wonder for the casual viewer who’s not too interested in the more technical areas of the sport does it matter if the cars look aesthetically pleasing? Would some be turned off watching a field of cars that look ‘weird’ or ‘ugly’?
Joe (@joetoml1n)
22nd January 2014, 10:47
Potentially some viewers may be turned off.. Since mid 2012 I’ve been trying to get my girlfriend into F1, and never once did she mention the step in the 2012/2013 noses. I explained it to her once, but to a casual viewer like her, it was neither important or particularly interesting..
Magnificent Geoffrey (@magnificent-geoffrey)
22nd January 2014, 10:51
I’d be interested to find out for how many F1Fanatics the shape of F1 cars was a significant factor in them becoming fans of the sport in the first place.
Webbo (@webbo82)
22nd January 2014, 11:02
I think for me, it was the speed and the colours of the cars. The ’90/91/92 Williams cars captured my attention as a boy. Watching these spaceships on wheels race past my eyes on primitive TV coverage while British engineering and Mansell ruled the world in their brightly-coloured livery with exotic words that meant nothing to me (Camel, Comet etc).
It’s still the liveries and colours (if I’m honest) rather than the shape that capture my attention most pre-season but I’ve grown to love everything about the sport and its rich history (full collection of review vids now comverted to DVDs). I still follow every acute change in shape and love to see the evolution of designs.
Thanks for asking @magnificent-geoffrey !
Joe (@joetoml1n)
22nd January 2014, 11:13
Not for me. Designs come and go.. I like some pre 2009 cars, with all the winglets, and also some from the current tech regs. It’s the speed, technology and excitement that do it for me.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
22nd January 2014, 11:14
Yes, because all the cars were different shapes back then, and you’d pick out favourites (the 1989 Ferrari for me).
It’s the same now with sportscars, and F1 design’s been regulated to death, but hopefully these noses will start bringing a bit more variety back.
Timothy Katz (@timothykatz)
22nd January 2014, 11:36
Actually, yes the aesthetics were important to me.
I have always been into racing at every level – endurance, Formula Ford – even the Wendy Wools Special Saloon Car Championship of the Seventies! Formula 1 appealed, but seemed to be rather rarified and unobtainable until I was old enough to afford my own copy of Autosport and could read the GP reports and see the cars. But that was when cars were radically different to each other with cars like the six-wheel Tyrell unmistably different in shape and colour.
As the regulations have tightened over the years, the differences in shape have tended to become more subtle and the difference between cars is based more on livery and colour more than anything else.
Aesthetics matter. But it’s the competitive racing that prevails for me; doesn’t matter if its F1 or Formula Electric or karts.
Baron (@baron)
22nd January 2014, 12:20
The noise!
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
22nd January 2014, 12:41
I don’t know why I started watching F1 exactly. I was too young that I can’t truly remember what drew me to it. At a guess I’d say the speed and the drama of there being a crash, an overtake, or cars breaking down.
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
22nd January 2014, 13:20
@magnificent-geoffrey It was always the engine sound that got me pulled towards f1 viewing I guess . Watching this when I was a small kid made quite an impact I guess . Even now ….I Just put that v10 symphony in full volume and enjoy .
abel
22nd January 2014, 14:29
Black and Gold JPS livery was the thing for me. That, and the roaring.
Neil
22nd January 2014, 13:04
Whenever I watch IndyCar (I’d say I’m a casual when it comes to that), I’m put off by how silly they look… their pointy low nose contrasts horribly with all the bodywork around the rear wheels (which alone looks extremely ugly).
So… maybe.
Kimi4WDC
22nd January 2014, 23:29
Agree. CART days there amazing!!!!
pastaman (@)
22nd January 2014, 13:56
I bet the casual viewer would be surprised to learn that the new cars are different at all from last year. You could probably throw any car since 2009 and the casual viewer would think they all look the same
Baron (@baron)
22nd January 2014, 12:24
Reading between the lines and the description of their nose as a “banker” you just KNOW the car has a ‘broom handle’ nose, (hinted at by Charlie although not specifically aimed at FI) and the suggestion that it will probably be changed just confirms it.
It doesn’t particularly matter to me, but looks seem to be important for many.
Steven (@steevkay)
22nd January 2014, 18:58
The noses are fun to discuss when there’s very little to discuss. I mean, Scarbs’ interpretation of how the noses will now be phalluses (phalli?) was hilarious to me, since part of me is 5 years old.
There was a similar outcry when the stepped noses were introduced and also when the oddly proportioned cars were introduced in 2009 due to the aero changes (wide front, tall rear); I very quickly got used to those. I still thought they were ugly when I saw them, but it wasn’t something I was actively concerned about.
I mean, with all the changes to the formula, how could you not focus on the racing?
TMF (@)
22nd January 2014, 12:47
my guess is that the same applies to most teams. Once they get track data they’ll change their designs to push the boundaries – so I expect way more fluctuations in appearance than we saw the last few years.
Arijit (@arijitmaniac)
22nd January 2014, 14:11
I would take the walrus styled nose any day over the anteater noses predicted by many.
Seems to me it would look much better with the new livery.
But hey anything to make it go fast is good! Cheers to them!