Spyker aiming for early-season reliability

The Dutch-owned outfit will be one of the last teams to unveil their car, with their launch scheduled for Silverstone on February 5.

But despite the late start, and the team's decision to skip the major pre-season tests in Bahrain, Gascoyne is upbeat that Spyker are ready to make the most of any chances that come their way at the start of the year.

"With the late engine call switching from Toyota to Ferrari, and the late arrival of the engine, we couldn't test earlier than this, so we're taking a measured approach to testing at the start of the year," Gascoyne told Spyker's official website.

"We've got a programme that will make the car reliable for first few races, but we won't reach a higher level of competitiveness until later in the season, so it makes sense to do a professional job to start with and put our resources to better use later in the year when we have a quicker car."

Gascoyne thinks it is more important for the team to spend the first half of the year strengthening their infrastructure rather than rushing into trying to make improvements to their car.

"We're not a team with unlimited budget, so we have to make sure we've got enough money going where it's needed most, which is back at the factory improving the car.

"Races are won back at base and, as such, we've balanced the first half of the year to strengthening the team. We looked carefully at the areas that needed restructuring.

"We are a small team, not supported by a big manufacturer or engine supplier so we manage our budget carefully."

Spyker will test at Silverstone for the two days after their launch, before testing at Barcelona from February 12-14, Valencia the following week and then back to Barcelona in the final week of February.