Force India VJM03 – Further modifications on sidepods panels at Turkey

  Turkey

 

    At Turkey the VJM03 had its sidepod panels modified . In details a small extra air-fence ( in black color) was added which hangs by its upper part from the  horizontal panel’s extension so as to improve airflow management close to the sidepod bottoms and towards the rear   .

 

 

  Valencia

 

   At Valencia this extra element was painted from black to orange

VJM03 , rear wing – small change for China

 

         At China  a tab-less rear wing was used  favoring top speed at long Sinopec’s  straight .

VJM03 – Bahraini rear wing spec details

1. The three horizontal slits at the upper part of the endplates , help to  reduce the turbulence and drag generated by the impact of the airflow towards the main profile close to endplates
2. The curved front-lower edge offers a cleaner  airflow passing close to the rear suspension’s upper wishbones . Again  turbulence and drag in this area is reduced . As side effect the airflow towards the low placed beam wing might be disrupted by air vortexes created by the rear wheel’s  rotation , especially when the car turns .
3. The black colored tab along the wing extremities boosts downforce production with small drag penalty .
4. Finally there is a single wing pillar to increase stiffness

 

VJM03 – Sidepod panels revision at Bahrain and bargeboard details

      During winter testing at Barcelona many teams presented major or lesser significance modifications to their cars . Force India VJM03 had  its sidepod panels revised  . The revised panels had a larger cut on their top rear end to let more air bleed between the panel and  sidepod , aiming mainly to drag reduction and a new connection to the mirrors   . Moreover a small winglet was added lower on the panel to improve airflow towards the rear sides of the car . The VJM03 retained the  revised panels for Bahrain  .

         The bargeboards featured by the VJM03 are smaller than other teams use and have a triangular shape with their rear part connecting directly to the turning vanes  . Their role is to manage flow of air around the sidepod bottoms and under the car’s floor .

VJM03 – Bahraini front wing spec details

 Sakhir

1.The central zone is defined by the rules as it must be 500mm width  and must consist of a single element

2.Vertical nose pillars

3.The main profile  rises before joining the endplate to  increase the quantity of air passing under and close to the endplates .

4.The vertical airflow splitter fence under the main profile  diverts airflow outwards .

5. Horizontal extension of the endplates , reduces front wing’s pitch sensitivity

6.Extra double profiled winglet which adds downforce

7.The endplate is consisted by two vertical elements . The two elements create an inner air channel to speed up airflow while the rear one has an outward  curve to direct air around the front wheels

8.There is a small cut deep at the outer second plane extremities to reduce drag on  long straights .

VJM03 inboard mirrors at China

                 One race before the official ban of the outboard mirrors , Force India repositioned the car mirrors inboards having them now mounted on the tooth edged cockpit fins .The outboard mirrors , a novelty first introduced in 2006 by Ferrari ( 248 F1) , are banned from FIA because they offer poor rear visibility .

VJM03 nose pillars and nose cone updates at Melbourne and Bahrain respectively

          The team during Winter testing modified significantly the nose cone shape . The new nose cone has a more roundy and  lifted up  tip so as to let more air pass under the car .

          Moreover the VJM03 introduced new wider nose pillars at Melbourne to guide better the airflow entering under the nose .  A similar pillar design was also adopted by Mercedes GP at Spanish race .