After finishing a strong sixth in the 2014 Constructors’ Championship, Force India were hopeful of achieving a team-best top five finish in 2015. Their preparations for the season, though, were badly affected by off-track events. A change of wind tunnel from Brackley to Cologne led to delays in the final design of the VJM08 being agreed upon. The team opted to skip the first pre-season test at Jerez and ran a revised 2014 car at the second test at Barcelona. The 2015 spec challenger finally made its debut at the final test, just weeks ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
A double points finish in Melbourne was followed by several difficult races for the Silverstone-based outfit. The team collected just three points finishes in the next six races, before both cars came home in the top 10 at the Austrian Grand Prix.
After completing their wind tunnel move, a B-Spec model VJM08 was unveiled at the British Grand Prix in July. Development of the car – with its radical front wing design – was continued until late in the season, allowing Sergio Perez to score points in all but two of the last nine races.
Force India’s high point of the season was the Russian Grand Prix. Some excellent tyre management from Perez meant that they were running third with just a handful of laps to go. Raikkonen and Bottas passed the Mexican with just two laps to go, but their infamous collision on the last lap led to Force India claiming only the third podium in their history.
Nico Hulkenberg had a difficult season by his standards, despite winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He failed to finish five of the last eleven races, potentially throwing away his maiden podium at the United States Grand Prix after a clumsy incident with Daniel Ricciardo.
Sergio Perez – 78 points (9th in the drivers’ championship)
Sergio Perez has really shone since moving to Force India at the start of 2014, but has taken it a step further in 2015. He has consistently beaten his highly rated teammate and, for the second year in a row, brought Force India their only podium of the season. Perez will remain at the Silverstone-based outfit next year and will be hoping that they can take even more podiums in 2016.
Nico Hulkenberg – 58 points (10th in the drivers’ championship)
We saw the occasional glamour of Nico Hulkenberg’s talent in 2015, most notably with his win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the WEC. In single seaters, though, it has been a disappointing season for the German. Several incidents over the course of the season cost Nico a chance of taking his first ever F1 podium, meaning once again he has failed to break his duck. 10th place is still a strong result for the 28-year-old and, after signing a 2-year contract extension during the season, he will be hoping that he can end his wait for a podium to help Force India challenge for a spot in the top four in 2016.
