Force India to hold back their 2015 car, the VJM08, until Barcelona tests

Force India are to delay the debut of their 2015 car until the second winter test.

The Silverstone-based team, who are holding a livery launch in Mexico on Wednesday, confirmed to Sky Sports News HQ that they will instead run their 2014 challenger, the VJM07, at the opening four-day test at Jerez from the end of next week.

With the team understood to be keeping the new VJM08 on hold for strategic reasons until the first of the back-to-back Barcelona sessions on February 19-22, Force India's engineers will have two additional weeks to work on their new car before it takes to the track for the first time.

Force India enjoyed their best F1 season last year and announced in December that they would be moving all their aerodynamic testing to Toyota’s wind tunnel in Cologne, a facility considered one of the best in the world. 

The decision to delay the introduction of a new car into pre-season testing is certainly not without precedence.

Although Lotus skipped last year’s Jerez test for what were thought to have been financial reasons, Mercedes began their 2012 programme in southern Spain with a year-old car before introducing their new challenger in Barcelona.

Red Bull skipped the opening Valencia test on consecutive occasions in 2009 and 2010 – going on to win the world championship for the first time in the latter year – although in those years pre-season testing ran to four winter meets as opposed to the current three.

2015 PRE-SEASON TEST SCHEDULE

February 1-4: Jerez, Spain

February 19-22: Barcelona, Spain

February 26-March 1: Barcelona, Spain

2015 CAR LAUNCHES

January 21: Force India

January 29: McLaren-Honda

January 30: Ferrari

January 31: Toro Rosso

February 1: Mercedes

The Sky Sports F1 Online team will be providing live commentary of all three winter tests, starting in Jerez on Sunday February 1, with live updates from trackside also on Sky Sports News HQ.