Spyker F8-VII

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Spyker F8-VII / Force India VJM01

Category	Formula One
Constructor	Spyker F1
Designer(s)	John McQuilliam (Chief Designer/Technical Director) [Until 2007] Mike Gascoyne (Technical Director) Mark Smith (Design Director)
Technical Specifications
Chassis	Carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite monocoque
Suspension (front)	Unequal length composite wishbones
Suspension (rear)	Unequal length composite wishbones
Engine	Ferrari 056H 2400cc V8, naturally aspirated, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted
Transmission	Spyker 7 forward + 1 reverse Longitudinal with electrohydraulic sequential gear change
Tyres	Bridgestone Potenza
Competition History
Notable entrants	Spyker F1 Force India
Notable drivers	Adrian Sutil Christijan Albers Markus Winkelhock Sakon Yamamoto Giancarlo Fisichella
Debut	2007 Australian Grand Prix
Races   Wins    Poles     FLs    23 0 0 0

The Spyker F8-VII (subsequently known as the Force India VJM01) is a Formula One car, constructed by Spyker F1 that competed in the 2007 Formula One World Championship. A B Specification Car named the Spyker F8-VIIB was launched at the Italian Grand Prix and used for the remainder of the 2007 season. For the 2008 World Championship Force India will use a slightly modified version of the F8-VII, called the Force India VJM01 named after team owners Vijay Mallya, Jan Mol and Michiel Mol. The F8-VII was the only car constructed by Spyker F1 in their own right after their take-over from the struggling Midland F1 team part way through 2006.

Contents 1 Design 1.1 Naming 1.2 B Specification Car 2 2008 season 3 Complete Formula One results 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Design

The F8-VII was described by the team as a solid base on which to build, as they had a relatively short period of time to produce the new F1 car. James Key, the technical director of Spyker F1, said, "We also tried to second guess as best we could what the 2007 tyres were going to do, and we worked hard on aero, which is of course always the fundamental thing. That way we could concentrate all our efforts on performance related areas."^[1]

[edit] Naming

Going against the trend originally started by Jordan Grand Prix and continued by Midland F1, the new car's naming designation relates directly to Spyker's heritage as a car and aircraft manufacturer. When the Dutch company started trading at the beginning of the 20th century it launched car models named A, B and C. When Spyker CEO Victor Muller resurrected the Spyker name in 2000 he wanted to build on that strong history.

"When we launched the first modern line of Spykers, the C8 Spyder, we called it the C line to follow on from the original model rationale," he explained. "The E line will be launched in the near future, so it makes sense for our Formula One car, our latest model, to be the F line."^{[citation needed]}

The number eight refers to the number of cylinders of Spyker's Ferrari engine – the same rationale as used with road-going Spykers. The VII (7) sub-designation refers to Spyker's days as an aircraft manufacturer where all models were denoted by Roman numerals and stood for the year the aircraft was launched. Hence the F8-VII is the Spyker F line with eight cylinders in 2007.^[2]

[edit] B Specification Car

A "B Specification" car was launched midway into the 2007 season. The F8-VIIB's debut was initially planned for the Turkish Grand Prix, but was delayed to the Italian Grand Prix after the car failed the mandatory FIA crash testing programme.^[3]

[edit] 2008 season

Spyker was bought by Vijay Mallya during 2007 and has become Force India for 2008. The rebranded team will continue to use the F8-VII chassis for the first part of the season.^[4] However, the car has been rebranded as the Force India VJM01.^[5] With initial 2008 testing being carried out in reliveried F8-VIIBs, the definitive version of the VJM01 - still closely based on the F8-VIIB - made its testing début on February 25, 2008.^[6]

[edit] Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Points	WCC
2007	Spyker	F8-VII	Ferrari V8	B		AUS	MAL	BHR	ESP	MON	CAN	USA	FRA	GBR	EUR	HUN	TUR	ITA	BEL	JPN	CHN	BRA		1	10th
					Sutil	17	Ret	15	13	Ret	Ret	14	17	Ret	Ret	17	21	19B	14B	8B	RetB	RetB
					Albers	Ret	Ret	14	14	19	Ret	15	Ret	15
					Winkelhock										Ret
					Yamamoto											Ret	20	20B	17B	12B	17B	RetB
2008	Force India	VJM01	Ferrari V8	B		AUS	MAL	BHR	ESP	TUR	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	EUR	BEL	ITA	SIN	CHN	JPN	BRA	0*	10th*
					Sutil	Ret	Ret	19	Ret	16	Ret
					Fisichella	Ret	12	12	10	Ret	Ret

* Season in progress

^B B-spec. car was used.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Full list of F8-VII Technical Specifications

v • d • e Spyker F1 Personnel: Michiel Mol | Colin Kolles | James Key | Mike Gascoyne Drivers: Adrian Sutil | Sakon Yamamoto | Markus Winkelhock | Giedo van der Garde Formula One cars: F8-VII

v • d • e Force India Personnel: Vijay Mallya | Michiel Mol | Colin Kolles | Mike Gascoyne | James Key Current drivers: Giancarlo Fisichella | Adrian Sutil | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Roldán Rodríguez | Giedo van der Garde Formula One cars: VJM01

v • d • e Cars that competed in the 2007 Formula One season McLaren MP4-22 • Renault R27 • Ferrari F2007 • Honda RA107 • BMW Sauber F1.07 • Toyota TF107 • Red Bull RB3 • Williams FW29 • Toro Rosso STR2 • Spyker F8-VII • Super Aguri SA07

v • d • e Cars competing in the 2008 Formula One season Ferrari F2008 • BMW Sauber F1.08 • Renault R28 • Williams FW30 • Red Bull RB4 • Toyota TF108 • Toro Rosso STR2B • Toro Rosso STR3 • Honda RA108 • Super Aguri SA08 • Force India VJM01 • McLaren MP4-23