Force India’s ‘B’ Car Fails Initial FIA Crash Test
Force India’s upgraded Formula One car missed passing the mandatory FIA crash test on its first attempt, putting its planned Austria debut in doubt for the 2015 season.
Force India’s much-anticipated ‘B’ specification Formula One car failed to clear the FIA’s mandatory crash test on its first attempt, casting uncertainty over the team’s planned debut of the upgrade at the Austrian Grand Prix in June 2015.
The Silverstone-based team had originally scheduled the new chassis, featuring a Williams-style short nose, for a mid-season launch to address performance shortfalls seen in early 2015. Financial and supplier issues had already delayed the car’s development, leaving drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Sergio Pérez waiting for improvements.
Technical chief Andy Green confirmed the car failed the test “only just”, according to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport. The FIA crash tests are compulsory for all new or substantially updated chassis before they can be used in competition. A further failure would mean the car could not be run in Austria, with the British Grand Prix in July or the post-Austria test emerging as fallback options.
Crash test process and consequences
FIA crash tests are designed to ensure the structural integrity of F1 chassis in high-speed impacts. Teams often push designs to the limit to extract performance, but any failure means immediate rework and retesting. For Force India, this setback threatened to prolong the wait for a performance upgrade that both drivers had publicly anticipated.
Deputy team principal Bob Fernley had previously said Austria was the target for the new car’s race debut, but admitted in Monaco that a post-race test or even Silverstone was more likely if any issues arose. Pérez also indicated that expectations had shifted towards a July introduction.
What’s next for Force India
A successful retest would clear the way for the car’s introduction, but any further failure would force Force India to continue with its original chassis for at least another race weekend. The team’s situation mirrored other recent cases where new F1 cars required multiple attempts to pass the FIA’s stringent standards, as seen with Ferrari’s 2016 entry.
For more on Force India’s development plans, seeForce India targets mid-season with VJM08 ‘B’ car upgrade.
