Force India originally targeted the Austrian GP to deliver at least one its drivers the B-specification car, however, it won't be ready until the British GP now, having failed the FIA's crash tests. In the meantime the team continue to develop incremental upgrades to the VJM08 in order to keep pace relative to their rivals.
Having tested the configuration at the post Spanish GP in-season test the team introduced a new front brake configuration in Monaco (left), which sees their brake caliper moved from the front to the rear of the assembly. This will have some marginal performance effects in terms of CoG and braking stability and even if these have a negative effect on car balance the upshot in aero performance may outweigh it. The repositioning of the caliper means that the airflow entering the
brake ducts scoop can provide better cooling to the caliper, whilst
allowing airflow to be proportioned off for aerodynamic gain.
You'll note that the team have added a crossover pipe in front of the brake disc (marked in yellow), which takes some of the airflow collated by the scoop and ejects it through the wheel, reducing some of the negative effects its rotation can have on the airflow passing around the outside of the car (Think back to the wheel spinner used circa 2007-09 to reduce this).
The change in philosophy won't appear significant from the outset but as the design matures and is used to manage other aero structures it'll yield larger results. Paramount to this will be the front wing, as it'll allow the team to adjust how much of the wingspan / cascades are proportioned off to deal with the tyres front wake.
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Thursday, May 28, 2015
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