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Paul Di Resta was in the unusual position of being the only driver on hand when the new Force India VJM06 was unveiled at Silverstone today.

Di Resta is going into his third season as a race driver with the team, and is optimistic about his prospects after a strong 2012 season.

“I’m feeling very good, I must say,” he said. “At the moment I’m working very closely with my team of people, and that’s changed slightly in different departments. We’re all trying to do the best job possible. Whether it’s managing time and making sure you’re in the best frame of mind or whether that’s on track performance and the finer details of the car set-up, ultimately it’s all about performance and results.

“I know the way this team works and they know how I work. When it all gels well we can obviously see the results we get. We just need to make sure we can achieve that on a more consistent basis.”

He is fully refreshed after the winter break: “I’ve come back even more keen and eager to get back in the car and get back to business. Looking ahead everyone is in good form in the factory. The relationships are very strong, the structures in some departments have changed, and I think all the boys are ready for it.

“There are good times ahead, I think. Looking at the design aspects of the car, the rules haven’t changed, so effectively it’s an evolution of what we had before. Normally we’ve struggled at the beginning of the year, but the way I see it it’s just another development phase for the car that’s going to roll out in Jerez.”

“The main focus is a team ambition – speaking as one of the team drivers – which is to re-take sixth in the constructors’ championship, with fifth as a target. Sauber took it off us last year, and deservedly so, they had a bit of a better car at the beginning of the year, and that’s where we lost out. We need to now work out how to overtake them again.

“The focus is on performance and the focus is on results. We are a strong midfield team, we are consistent, and we just need to deliver the performances throughout the whole season.”

Di Resta said it was important that the team got its season off to a stronger start.

“That is what has got to happen, and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t. I think the pressure is on all the departments to make sure we start better, because last year we underperformed, certainly until the European season kicked in.

“We did get some good results before that – in the rain in Malaysia and in Bahrain, where we just got everything together and understood the car to achieve something remarkable that early in the season. So that is where we are looking. We need to launch a car, understand it, and bring a race package to it – whether that’s at the Barcelona test or in Melbourne – that needs make the car quicker than when it rolled out on the first day.”

Di Resta said he was encouraged by the team adding staff and increasing its CFD capacity.

“I’m pleased to see that the resources have been increased, given last year’s announcement about the new investment. Ultimately we’re not going to see the full benefits until two years down the line. The team works well on what it does with a limited budget, and you’ve got to slowly but surely come up with a plan on how you are going to approach it.

“We must be doing something right – I’m sure if you took some of the other teams down to our personnel size they wouldn’t be doing the same job! We are structured in a different way, and I think that’s where you probably can react quicker as a team, because there are not as many decisions to make. Ultimately coming up with the big designs idea is more difficult. There are things in the pipeline at the moment, and board members and senior management are coming up with ways of moving the team forward.”

Force India unveiled its new VJM06 at a damp Silverstone today, with Paul Di Resta doing the honours on his own as there is still no decision on the second driver.

The car is the fourth to be launched in 2013, but the first to actually run.

Like its predecessor the car was designed by a team led by technical director Andrew Green.

“Obviously the regulations are reasonably stable from last year to this year, and the ban on the double DRS doesn’t really affect us, for example,” said Green.

“We basically stopped developing last year’s car around the middle of the season. In fact it was still being developed in the tunnel, but those parts were not being brought to the track. So the trackside guys had a chance to understand what they had, rather than it changing every week, which is really what happened up to that point.

“When you have something that is stable you can then refine it and really dial it in. We just tried to understand what the car was doing, where it differed from the model, and more importantly how we worked the tyres. We used that extra knowledge for this year’s car, and it helped quite a lot.”

Despite the continuity, Green says that much has changed compared with the VJM06.

“It’s a brand new car from the ground-up – everything is new, including the chassis. I know other teams were talking about carrying over big chunks of last year’s car, but we haven’t done that, to try and push ourselves up the grid. There were still some gains to be had with the chassis, so we elected to do that. However the car is evolution rather than revolution compared with last year, just due to the nature of the regulations.

“Visually probably the biggest thing that everybody’s going to notice this year is the fairing on top of the nose to get rid of the step. It’s completely neutral as far as the car is concerned, so it’s a small thing really. We were happy to do it as the car looks nicer!

“There are quite a few changes under the skin. Because we focussed a lot on the tyres last year we’ve given ourselves quite a few more options on set-up to help us manage them from qualifying to the race. So that’s something we’ll be looking at going into winter testing – we’ll be looking at those options and trying to understand them. It’s going to be difficult because in testing it’s so cold, but those options will give the engineers another weapon in their armoury.

“The suspension has been tuned for what we learned on the tyres, so the configuration is different to last year, as there are some reasonable changes to compliment the tyres. The rear suspension is quite a bit different – for aerodynamic reasons the whole thing has been lifted up to allow the airflow under the lower rear wishbones.”

Ferrari’s new F138 is being unveiled to today, and the good news is the car looks a lot better than its predecessor, as like McLaren the team has taken the advantage of the new ‘vanity panel’ step cover rule.

The car has been designed in large part in the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne, and the team is keen to point out that it has a separate group already hard at work on the 2014 turbo car.

Ferrari says that the F138 is an evolution of last year’s car, but adds that “every single part has been revised in order to maximise performance, while maintaining all the characteristics which were the basis of last season’s extraordinary reliability.”

The car retains pull rod suspension front and rear, but the team says that it has “been refined to the limit, in order to gain as much aerodynamic advantage as possible, especially at the rear.”

The air intakes are different, as is the layout and positioning of the exhausts.
The rear of the car is much narrower and more tapered at the bottom, while the wings on the launch car are derived from last year’s. The DRS has been revised to cater for the fact that it cannot be used on the whole lap in qualifying.

Ferrari says that “during both the design and production stages, great attention has been paid to weight reduction and on increasing rigidity. This theme was carried out through all departments working together – Chassis, Engine and Electronics and Production.”

More later…

Martin Whitmarsh confirmed today that technical director Paddy Lowe is committed to the team for at least a year – but admitted that the longer term situation was unclear.

Last week it emerged that Lowe had been talking to Mercedes about a possible future management role, leading to an awkward meeting with his bosses.
Lowe was a notable absentee from today’s launch of the new MP4-28.

“The certainty is that Paddy will be part of the team for another year,” said Whitmarsh. “It’s less certain, I think as has been speculated in the media, beyond that. But it’s something I’m sure we will have some certainty on in the near future.”

Asked why Lowe was absent Whitmarsh said: “Clearly there’s a lot of media interest, and I think it’s good that Paddy concentrates on doing his job. I don’t think he wants to create any embarrassment to the team or to any of his colleagues. It’s his own election, he felt it wasn’t appropriate to be here.”

Button is excited about the new car. Photo: AC

Jenson Button says that the new McLaren MP4-28 is the best the team has made – and is adamant that this will be a better season than the last.

“This year’s car is the best we’ve ever made,” said Button. “I know the engineers have left absolutely no stone unturned in wringing every ounce of performance from every available area. I cannot wait to get behind the wheel and attempt to carry forward the incredible legacy that lives beneath the skin of every single man and woman who works at McLaren.

“We were extremely strong throughout the whole of the 2012 season, but, for one reason or another, we couldn’t quite pull it all together to challenge for the championships. That’s something we want to address for 2013. I’ve seen just how closely everybody has been working together on this car, and I think we’ve got the basis for a very strong season.

“We’ll be working extremely hard during the pre-season to ensure we go to the first race with bulletproof reliability. Operationally, too, I think we’ve learned and developed from last year, and that will help us run a much smoother and stronger campaign.”

Button also had some comments on his new team mate.

“Obviously, the biggest change for 2013 is my new team-mate, Checo. It’s always interesting and inspiring to begin working with a new face, and it already feels like a very positive working relationship.

“I know from personal experience that it can feel initially daunting when you walk into the McLaren Technology Centre for the very first time, but I also remember how quickly I was made to feel at home and how welcoming I found the whole McLaren family. I’m sure Checo already feels very much at ease here.”

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh was in bullish mood at this morning’s launch of the MP4-28, and is adamant that the team will overcome the issues that saw it miss out on a title challenge last year.

He also confirmed that Paddy Lowe will be with the team for at least year. Lowe was absent from the launch – by his own choice, according to Whitmarsh.

“For 2013, of course, we go racing to win,” said Whitmarsh. “With Jenson and Checo, and this fantastic-looking new car, I believe we’re extremely well prepared for another competitive season. Jenson is driving better than ever – he’s the most experienced driver in Formula 1, but he makes every ounce of that experience count: he’s peerless in his ability to read a race and one of the very fastest drivers out there. He’s a consummate professional, too, and will revel in working hard to drive this team through the year.

“Checo joins us after a sensational 2012 season and he’s immediately proved that he’s intelligent, modest, hard-working and, make no mistake; very, very quick. Of course, there’ll be a learning curve to overcome as he gets used to our organisation, particularly during the hustle and bustle of the early-season race weekends, but he understands that we are placing no pressure on him.

“This is an exciting time for the whole team. In our 50th anniversary season, I want Vodafone McLaren Mercedes to underline why we are the finest grand prix team in the world.”

Today’s launch was opened by a parade of classis McLaren cars.

“The launch of a new Formula 1 car is always an exciting and slightly nerve-wracking occasion,” said Whitmarsh. “Today’s parade of some of our greatest and most significant cars was a thrilling way to kick off our 50th anniversary celebrations and also our 2013 campaign – but it’s a reminder of the tremendous responsibility everyone within the McLaren Technology Centre shares to uphold the legacy began by Bruce McLaren and taken on by Teddy Mayer and Ron Dennis.

“It’s fully appropriate that the echoes of the past should be made to reverberate around the glass walls of a thoroughly modern building like the McLaren Technology Centre. Equally, however, we’ve never lost sight of the fact that we’ll always be linked to that fearless band of enterprising pioneers who came together to form Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd in the autumn of 1963.

“Like Bruce and his closest friends, we still have the belief that we can go out into the world, risk everything and emerge victorious. That, ultimately, is the spirit that drives this organisation.”

The McLaren MP4-28 has been unveiled at Woking today by Jenson Button and Sergio Perez, with Jenson keen to point out that, despite appearances, the car is very different from last year’s.

More later…

The Nurburgring has confirmed that it has reached an agreement with Bernie Ecclestone to host the German GP as planned on July 7.

Reuters reports this morning that the circuit has issued a statement confirming the new deal.

It quotes Ecclestone as saying: “I treasure the Nurburgring and its history. In view of its long tradition, I was glad to support choosing the Nurburgring as the venue for the Formula One.”

The track has been in serious financial problems since the local government backed plans to to turn it into a tourist attraction.

Bernie Ecclestone has played down the chances of HRT being replaced by a new entity called Scorpion Racing.

It emerged today that a group of what are described as American and Canadian investors are behind an attempt to gain a last minute entry to the 2013 World Championship using ex-HRT equipment. A UK base at Silverstone, rather than in Madrid, has been mentioned.

However in effect the HRT entry lapsed when the team folded at the end of last season and it would appear that there are few real assets other than the 2012 cars themselves, which in theory could be run again this year.

Ecclestone has had some contact with Scorpion but says that it’s unlikely that the project will succeed.

“I’ve spoken to them and told them to get in touch with the FIA and ask for an entry,” he told the UK’s Press Association agency.

“They want to buy all the bits from HRT, then form a company and ask for an entry, but I personally don’t think it will happen. It’s all a bit too late. Maybe they could do it for next year.”