Formula 1:McLaren’s De la Rosa tests for Force India

McLaren’s Spanish reserve driver Pedro de la Rosa switched over to testing duties with the Force India Formula One team at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya on Tuesday.

Force India this month agreed a five-year partnership deal with McLaren and Mercedes that will see them replace their Ferrari engines with a complete drivetrain (engine and gearbox) package next season.

The team will also use a KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) designed by McLaren and Mercedes.

The deal has triggered speculation the experienced De la Rosa could also be drafted in as a race driver for the Silverstone-based team but a Force India spokesman played that down.

“Pedro is an old friend of the team,” he said, pointing out that the Spaniard had been a test driver for Force India’s predecessors Jordan in 1998 before making his F1 race debut with Arrows in 1999.

FRESH FACE

“It’s an opportunity for a fresh face to put a new perspective on an old car,” he added.

While some other Formula One teams have two more tests planned before the New Year, this week’s outing at the Spanish Grand Prix circuit will be Force India’s last track appearance of the year.

The team will not be able to use their Mercedes engines until January and have almost used up their supply of Ferrari power units.

De la Rosa, who tested for McLaren on Monday, was joined by Force India’s German race driver Adrian Sutil on Tuesday with Italian Giancarlo Fisichella scheduled to test with the Spaniard on Wednesday.

Force India’s billionaire owner Vijay Mallya has said the team intends to keep Fisichella and Sutil but hinted recently that the McLaren deal could change his thinking.

“They (McLaren) will recommend what they believe to be in the best interests of my team and I have to decide,” he told Reuters last week. “And I would be hard pressed to ignore their advice.”

Formula 1: McLaren to recommend drivers for Force India

Vijay Mallya has shown who is the Boss. McLaren has said they will only recommend drivers but will not force, Force India to hire drivers recommended by McLaren. Mclaren has signed a 5 year deal with Force India for 5 years where in Mercedes will provide the Engine and McLaren will provide the gearbox and hydrualic systems.

Adding a curious twist to the news is Vijay Mallya’s statement. I quote here “They [McLaren] will recommend what they believe to be in the best interests of my team and I have to decide. And I would be hard pressed to ignore their advice,” He further added “The first thing is building the car. If we don’t have a car then there’s no point having a driver…It’s already pushing the envelope a little bit, so we need to focus on the car. The driver comes next and we will have these conversations “.

“I haven’t gone into any details on drivers yet,” said Mallya, who in the past week has ousted former team principal Colin Kolles and technical head Mike Gascoyne while also terminating Force India’s supply of Ferrari [Images] engines.

“I have taken some very hard decisions in the last week for this team. My interest is this team and it has to go where I want it to go.

“I am going to do whatever it takes. There are no emotions involved.”

The new partners are providing Force India with a complete drivetrain [engine and gearbox] as well as KERS [kinetic energy recovery system].

In addition, Simon Roberts is moving from McLaren Applied Technologies to become Force India’s chief operating officer.

“There’s nothing off-bounds in this partnership,” said McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh when asked about drivers.

“We will make proposals and recommendations that we think are enhancing the prospect of good performance from this team.

“I suspect he [Mallya] has some staggering business commitments outside of Formula One and he would expect us, as specialists and professionals in this field, to be making all of the recommendations that are necessary to ensure that we go forward.”

Force India’s trial by fire!!!

The first Indian-owned team to start a Formula One race were given a tough lesson in the realities of the sport when both their cars failed to finish Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix.

Force India, which is co-owned by Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya , never expected to challenge the likes of McLaren and Ferrari for victory but were hoping to at least make it to the finish.

Former Australian Grand Prix winner, Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, crashed out on the first corner, while Germany’s Adrian Sutil retired after eight laps because of a hydraulic pressure problem.

“It was a very disappointing first race for Force India,” the team’s chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne told reporters.

“We missed a great opportunity to score points… and we have to look to get a better result in Malaysia (next weekend).”

The team’s frustration at failing to finish the race was compounded by an unusually high casualty rate which saw just seven cars complete the event.

Fisichella, who had started from 16th place in the grid, made a clean getaway when the race began but came to an abrupt halt when he was caught in a pile-up.

“I was very disappointed as I lost the race at the first corner because another driver came in like a kamikaze into my car,” Fisichella said.

“It was very frustrating because this was such a good opportunity to score points.”

AVOIDED CARNAGE

Sutil started the race from the pit lane after cracking a chassis in qualifying. He managed to avoid the carnage at the first corner and got as high as 13th place before his day also ended prematurely.

“It was good while it lasted,” Sutil said. “In the opening laps, I could stay with the guys in front of me.”

Force India raced as Spyker last season, scoring just one point and finished 10th overall in the 11-team championship after McLaren were stripped of all their points for a spying controversy.

Mallya bought the team in the hope that Force India would be on the podium when New Delhi hosts a Formula One race in 2010 but knows the obstacles they face.

Despite his disappointment at failing to finish the race, Mallya said there were still plenty of encouraging signs.

“I was very pleased with the weekend despite the frustration of going out early in this astonishing race,” he said.

“I was, however, very encouraged with the pace we showed in the practice sessions.

“Although qualifying was ultimately disappointing, last year in Australia this team was well off the pace, this year we were up with the midfield.”

Photograph: Getty Images | Text: Reuters