Spyker F8-VII

The Spyker F8-VII (subsequently known as the Force India VJM01) was 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. The engine of Spyker F8-VII car was Ferrari 056 despite the team opted for 2006-spec engine due to cost reasons. For the 2008 World Championship, Force India used a slightly modified version of the F8-VIIB, called the Force India VJM01 named after team owners Vijay Mallya, Jan Mol and Michiel Mol. The VJM01 used 2007-spec Ferrari 056 engines instead of 2008-spec.

Spyker F8-VII
Spyker F8-VIIB
Force India VJM01

The Spyker F8-VII (top) and the Force India VJM-01 (bottom)
Category	Formula One
Constructor	Spyker/Force India
Designer(s)	Mike Gascoyne (Chief Technical Officer) James Key (Technical Director) Mark Smith (Design Director) John McQuilliam (Chief Designer) Simon Phillips (Head of Aerodynamics)
Predecessor	Midland M16
Successor	Force India VJM02
Technical specifications
Chassis	Carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite monocoque
Suspension (front)	Unequal length composite wishbones
Suspension (rear)	Unequal length composite wishbones
Length	4,790 mm (189 in)
Width	1,800 mm (71 in)
Height	950 mm (37 in)
Axle track	Front: 1,480 mm (58 in) Rear: 1,418 mm (56 in)
Wheelbase	More than 3,000 mm (118 in)
Engine	Ferrari 056 2006-spec (2007) Ferrari 056 2007-spec (2008) 2,398 cc (146 cu in) V8, naturally aspirated, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted
Transmission	Spyker/Ferrari 7 forward + 1 reverse Longitudinal with electrohydraulic sequential gear change
Power	750 hp (559 kW) @ 17000 rpm
Fuel	Shell V-Power
Tyres	Bridgestone Potenza
Competition history
Notable entrants	Etihad Aldar Spyker F1 Team (2007) Force India F1 Team (2008)
Notable drivers	20. Adrian Sutil 21. Christijan Albers 21. Markus Winkelhock 21. Sakon Yamamoto 21. Giancarlo Fisichella
Debut	2007 Australian Grand Prix
Last event	2007 Brazilian Grand Prix (F8-VII) 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix (VJM01)
Races Wins Podiums Poles F/Laps 35 0 0 0 0

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.

Overview

Design

Sutil driving the F8-VIIB at the 2007 Belgian Grand Prix.

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]

The car was not competitive and scored only one point.

Remarkably for an unsuccessful car, in his only ever race, Marcus Winkelhock started last at the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring but after getting his tactics right at the start of the wet race (by changing tyres after the warm up lap), Winkelhock found himself leading the race with a 33-second lead after just two laps due to most of the field either pitting for wet tyres or spinning off. The race was stopped due to the dangerous conditions. Winkelhock officially led the race for 7 laps but as the conditions improved following the restart, he slid down the field in his uncompetitive car and eventually retired after 15 laps.

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."^[2]

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.^[1]

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] Adrian Sutil subsequently scored Spyker's one and only point in the Japanese Grand Prix at the wheel of the F8-VIIB.^[4]

Christijan Albers driving the F8-VII at the 2007 British Grand Prix.

2008 season

Adrian Sutil testing for Force India in January 2008.

Giancarlo Fisichella driving at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.

Spyker was bought by Vijay Mallya during 2007 and became Force India for 2008. With initial 2008 testing being carried out in reliveried F8-VIIBs, the definitive version of the Force India VJM01 – still largely based on the F8-VIIB – made its testing debut on February 25, 2008.^[5] The team continued to use 2007-specification Ferrari engines due to cost reasons. Although the team came close to a fourth-place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix, points were not forthcoming, and Force India ended the season at the bottom of the Constructors' Championship standings, only ahead of Super Aguri which had withdrawn from the championship after four races.^[6]

Later uses

In 2011, Force India teamed up with the artist Dexter Brown to produce an art car. The car was a hand painted VJM01 which was set to be auctioned for charity at the first Indian Grand Prix. The actual car used was VJM01-05, as raced by Giancarlo Fisichella in sixteen of the eighteen races in 2008.^[7]

Other events

On 17 April 2007, Albers raced the F8-VII against the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) F-16AM fighter jet, piloted by RNLAF pilot Ralph Staal in the event called "Full Throttle" organized by RNLAF. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness of their recruitment program.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Entrant	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	Etihad Aldar Spyker F1 Team	F8-VII	Ferrari V8	B		AUS	MAL	BHR	ESP	MON	CAN	USA	FRA	GBR	EUR	HUN	TUR	ITA	BEL	JPN	CHN	BRA		1	10th
					Adrian Sutil	17	Ret	15	13	Ret	Ret	14	17	Ret	Ret	17	21
					Christijan Albers	Ret	Ret	14	14	19	Ret	15	Ret	15
					Markus Winkelhock										Ret
					Sakon Yamamoto											Ret	20
		F8-VIIB			Adrian Sutil													19	14	8	Ret	Ret
					Sakon Yamamoto													20	17	12	17	Ret
2008	Force India F1 Team	VJM01	Ferrari V8	B		AUS	MAL	BHR	ESP	TUR	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	EUR	BEL	ITA	SIN	JPN	CHN	BRA	0	10th
					Adrian Sutil	Ret	Ret	19	Ret	16	Ret	Ret	19	Ret	16	Ret	Ret	13	19	Ret	Ret	Ret	16
					Giancarlo Fisichella	Ret	12	12	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	18	Ret	14	15	14	17	Ret	14	Ret	17	18

^B B-spec. car was used.