Children of the Revolution.

Force India are perfectly in tune with the times; they are an independent (ish) team thriving where manufacturers fall. Last year was something of a breakthrough for the perennial backmarkers with pole and a podium in Spa followed up by continual strong running to the end of the season. The question is whether the VJM-03 has the pace to continue that momentum or whether the team are doomed to fall into old habits.

There hasn't been quite so much optimism from the team from Silverstone since about 2002 (when they finished 6th in the constructors championship under the guise of Jordan), the years that have followed have offered precious little to be happy about - they have not finished any higher than 9th in all of those years. However, 2009 seemed to be a bit of a turning point. The fact is that Force India made the decision at the end of '08 to terminate their engine supply contract with Ferrari and switch to Mercedes power. The reason for this wasn't to gain horsepower or reliability (although the Merc. V8 has defined itself as the class leader in the last few years) but rather because it came with a technical partnership with McLaren. Not in the copycat Toro Rosso/Red Bull way, but more as a way for the team to grow and develop. Force India simply pay McLaren for some gearboxes, engines (although I guess these now come directly from Mercedes) and some engineers to help maximise their effect in the orange, white and green cars - plus to bring some 'top team' experience to the company. All of this means that the cars have a good solid base with lots of pieces already tested and ready to go. This leaves the team able to concentrate on one thing - the chassis design. Obviously, it proved dividends last year when Fisichella made it within a whisker of winning the Belgium grand prix - a race that he would have won had the Ferrari not had KERS.

So to 2010 and it is no surprise to hear that the VJM-03 is an evolution on its savvy predecessor. In fact, there seem to be only two obvious differences; the higher nose and the shark-fin engine cover. There are no Red Bull 'humps' in the nose nor aggressive front wing like the McLaren. The sidepods aren't as small and don't fall away as quickly and as tightly as I would have expected and the car isn't as long either. However, Mark Smith (the design director) offers an explanation for this:

"There is a compromise now [that the fuel tank has to be bigger]: either make the car much longer or wider, or, as we have done, a combination of both. This of course has influenced the mechanical design solutions and also the aerodynamics, specifically with respects to the diffuser and bodywork."

You get the feeling that Force India have decided to play it safe, at least in part; using a design that they know and understand and making little but definite gains on this rather than taking one risky step. This would explain the rationale behind increasing both the width and length because this minimises the overall change in either direction and therefore minimise the need to change the aerodynamics in response to the rule changes.

Last year's car was definitely a revolution but it benefited from being a very low drag car - making it quick where the level of downforce generated didn't matter too much. The downside to this is that the level of aerodynamic efficiency in the car wasn't really good enough to make the most of any flashes of speed that were shown. In order to succeed, this car must have an improved performance in this area so that it is more competitive around any circuit. I just don't know whether the car as it is here will have made those gains. It will be better than last year's but if other teams have taken a more revolutionary route (and succeeded) then the VJM03 could find itself playing catch-up.

The trouble with success is the expectation that it brings; from fans and investors alike. If this team fails to deliver more podiums this year (or a consistent run of points finishes) then (owner) Vijay Mallya could find himself forced out by his backers. This would be a cruel irony as his dream is to see his team lead in the inaugural Indian GP in 2011. Simply, the target should be 7th place in the constructors (beating the 4 new teams, Toro Rosso plus one of Renault, Williams and Sauber), anything better would be brilliant, 8th would be acceptable but 9th or lower would have to be considered a failure.

It's time to find out whether the glory days of Jordan can be lived again...