Force India predict three tenths gain

The team tested the new system during Friday practice in Hungary but decided to wait until Valencia before using it in qualifying or a race.

Technical director Mike Gascoyne expects it to make an immediate and significant difference to their lap times.

"Our simulations show a benefit of two to three tenths over one lap, and possibly more as the driver has the option to get on the power earlier as the car isn't upset by the gear change," he said. "The driver can be smoother with the acceleration so there's less disturbance when cornering and under power.

"We will see an advantage everywhere as you will always ratio the gearbox to get the most out of it at each circuit, so its effect over a lap will be fairly consistent from circuit to circuit."

Gascoyne explained that the team delayed the race debut of the gearbox until Valencia to increase its testing mileage, and believes its introduction is a huge a acheivement for Force India.

"We tested the gearbox for the first time at a shakedown at Silverstone, and then again for three days at Jerez, but for such an important component, that really isn't enough to be able to validate it," he said. "Running it on Friday in Hungary gave us the opportunity to conduct further testing, plus we avoided the penalty of changing gearboxes in the middle of a four-race cycle.

"With our limited resources, the team have done a very good job to get it introduced this season. It is a big thing for a small team to introduce such a large component mid-season as we don't have the transient dynos and test rigs that the other teams have.

"There are always risks associated with introducing a gearbox mid-season, due to the limited mileage, but I think this was a step the team had to make for the future. The first box we ran got to over three race event distances before stopping with a very minor problem, so a very good effort in terms of reliability."