Force India pulls the wraps off its new-look livery

Sahara Force India has unveiled its striking new livery for the 2015 F1 World Championship season during a ceremony in Mexico City. 

Force India didn't use the event to officially reveal its definitive 2015 F1 contender, the VJM08, the Indian team pulled the wraps off a new design, which will see the familiar black and orange livery interspersed with a silver colour scheme that replaces former white and green appearance. 

The updated look is in contrast to an otherwise familiar team, which will retain the driving services of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez for the 2015 season. 

“It's another evolution of the contemporary look we introduced last year, which reflects the growth of the team and the global brands with which we are working" said team manager Vijay Mallya. 

"I love the addition of silver, which makes the car appear more sleek and aggressive and I'm sure it's something that will appeal to the fans as well. Our traditional team colours remain integrated in the livery, but we've given it a very modern twist.” 

The livery was revealed at Mexico City's Museo Soumaya to help promote the revived Mexican Grand Prix, which will be held at the updated Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit on November 1st. New backers for the team include NEC, which moves over from Sauber, as well as existing deals with Telcel, Claro, Smirnoff and Kingfisher.

However, despite being one of the first to launch its 2015 F1 campaign, Force India will be one of the last to run its car having announced its new Mercedes-powered VJM08 won't get its track debut until the second F1 test in Barcelona in February. 

An upgraded version of the existing VJM07 will instead run at the Jerez test, which begins on 1st February. 

Force India finished the 2014 F1 World Championship with sixth place in the constructors' standings after losing out in a season-long battle with McLaren.

source: www.crash.net

F1 : Force India will not test 2015 car at Jerez

Force India will be the first team to launch the 2015 F1 car VJM08, but the car will be the last one to hit the test tracks. The VJM08 will be make its track debut in the second test at Barcelona.

Force India will instead test a 2014 car at Jerez.

The new Mercedes-powered VJM08 will not actually be up-and-running when the other eight teams kick off the official winter test period at Jerez on 1 February. Force India will therefore reportedly delay the track debut of the 2015 car until the second test later in February, in Barcelona.

F1 : McLaren lineup still undecided

Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen face an even longer wait for McLaren to make its 2015 Formula 1 line-up decision after a team board meeting failed to resolve the issue.

McLaren's 2015 line-up is still undecided after its Thursday board meeting failed to reach a firm choice between Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen.

Team spokesperson : "Today's board meeting has now concluded and no decision has been taken with regard to our 2015 driver line-up."

Both drivers appeared at a promotional event in Edinburgh on Thursday for McLaren sponsor Johnnie Walker, and Button made clear that he wanted a decision as quickly as possible.

"I'm now really comfortable, and whatever happens I will have a great year next year," he told the Press Association.

"New challenges are exciting, whether it's in Formula 1 with McLaren alongside an exciting team-mate, or whether it's elsewhere.

"So I'm good, but I just want to get it done. I want to hear the decision - as we all do - so we can all move on in whatever direction."

In the end, Button may decide that he can no longer wait for McLaren to make a decision and could choose to seek a drive elsewhere in motor sport - most likely in sportscars.

F1 : Rule changes and calender announced

FIA released a statement regarding the 2015 Formula One season calender and regulations.

The full statement from the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council:

The 2015 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar is confirmed as follows:

15/03 Australia
29/03 Malaysia
12/04 China
19/04 Bahrain
03/05 Korea (TBC)
10/05 Spain
24/05 Monaco
07/06 Canada
21/06 Austria
05/07 Britain
19/07 Germany
26/07 Hungary
23/08 Belgium
06/09 Italy
20/09 Singapore
27/09 Japan
11/10 Russia
25/10 USA
01/11 Mexico
15/11 Brazil
29/11 Abu Dhabi




2015 F1 SPORTING REGULATIONS

The following decisions were taken:

Points


Points for both titles will no longer be doubled for the final Event of the Championship.

Standing Restarts


After consultation with the Teams who raised a number of safety concerns, Articles 42.7 and 42.8 on standing restarts have been rescinded.



Virtual Safety Car (VSC) 


Following tests of the VSC system at the final Events of 2014, the introduction of the system has been approved for 2015. The VSC procedure may be initiated to neutralise a race upon the order of the clerk of the course. It will normally be used when double waved yellow flags are needed on any section of track and competitors or officials may be in danger, but the circumstances are not such as to warrant use of the safety car itself. The full text of the article is available in Annex I.



Suspending a race


When a race is suspended, the pit exit will be closed and all cars must now proceed slowly into the pit lane, not the starting grid. The first car to arrive in the pit lane should proceed directly to the pit exit staying in the fast lane, all the other cars should form up in a line behind the first car. 



Team personnel or equipment on grid


If any team personnel or team equipment remain on the grid after the 15 second signal has been shown the driver of the car concerned must start the race from the pit lane. A ten second stop-and-go penalty will be imposed on any driver who fails to do this.



Power Unit Penalties


The replacement of a complete power unit will no longer result in a penalty, instead as specified in the current regulations, penalties will be applied cumulatively for individual components of the power unit.

If a grid place penalty is imposed, and the driver’s grid position is such that the full penalty cannot be applied, the remainder of the penalty will be applied in the form of a time penalty during the race (not at the next race as was previously the case) according to the following scale :

• 1 to 5 grid places untaken: A penalty under Article 16.3(a) will be applied.

• 6 to 10 grid places untaken: A penalty under Article 16.3(b) will be applied.

• 11 to 20 grid places untaken: A penalty under Article 16.3(c) will be applied.

• More than 20 grid places untaken: A penalty under Article 16.3(d) will be applied.



Time Penalties


In addition to the existing five-second penalty (Article 16.3a), a new ten-second penalty (Article 16.3b) will also be introduced, to be applied in the same manner.



Unsafe Release


If a car is deemed to have been released in an unsafe condition during a race a ten second stop-and-go penalty will be imposed on the driver concerned. An additional penalty will be imposed on any driver who, in the opinion of the stewards, continues to drive a car knowing it to have been released in an unsafe condition.



Qualifying Procedure


The qualifying procedure was clarified: for cases when 24 cars are eligible seven will be excluded after Q1 and Q2, if 22 cars are eligible six cars will be excluded after Q1 and Q2, and so on if fewer cars are eligible.



Safety Car: lapped cars


Once the last lapped car has passed the leader the safety car will return to the pits at the end of the following lap, the race director will no longer have to wait for all the lapped cars to reach the back of the pack behind the safety car.



2015 TECHNICAL REGULATIONS 


- The weight of the car, without fuel, must not be less than 702kg at all times during the Event (up from 701kg).

- Changes have been made to the rules governing Wind Tunnel Testing and with regard to the aerodynamic reporting periods for 2015 and 2016. 

- Any suspension system fitted to the front wheels must be so arranged that its response results only from changes in load applied to the front wheels.

- Any suspension system fitted to the rear wheels must be so arranged that its response results only from changes in load applied to the rear wheels.

- The Zylon anti-intrusion panels on both sides of the survival cell have been extended upwards to the rim of the cockpit and alongside the pilot’s head.



NEXT MEETING OF THE STRATEGY GROUP


The FIA President confirmed that the next meeting of the Strategy Group would take place on 18 December, and would focus reducing costs, improving the show, making cars quicker and more difficult to drive, and reviewing the technical and sporting regulations, with the aim of simplifying the rules where possible.



ACCIDENT PANEL

A review of all the evidence and other information about the events leading up to Jules Bianchi’s accident at the Japanese Grand Prix 5 October 2014, Suzuka, has been carried out by the 10-man Accident Panel, appointed by the FIA and chaired by Safety Commission President Peter Wright. The Panel has issued a 396-page report on their findings with recommendations for improvements, many relevant to all of motor sport. This has been presented to the FIA World Motor Sport Council, which accepted the findings and gave a mandate to implement the full recommendations and conclusions of the report. The summary issued by the panel can be found on fia.com.




CRITERIA FOR THE ISSUING OF SUPER LICENCES

A proposal on the conditions of attribution of the Super Licence was approved for 2016, on the basis of the following criteria:

1 - Safety criteria


The following changes have been made compared to the current regulations:

- There is a valid driving licence requirement.

- There is a minimum age requirement (18yo).

- There is a verification of knowledge of the F1 Sporting Regulations/ISC rules.

2 - Experience criteria


With the following changes compared to the current regulations:

- There is the 300km in F1 TCC or TPC_ as a minimum requirement.

- There is a 2 years minimum running in minor Formulas.

3 - Performance criteria


With the following changes compared to the current regulations:

- There is a point system requirement, based on the driver results in previous Formulas.


Source : www.formula1.com