The car that gave birth to F1's best giant-killer

Never mind the financial woes the team now known as Racing Point went through in the past couple of seasons before its purchase by Lawrence Stroll's consortium. Vijay Mallya's late-2007 takeover alleviated an even more turbulent period for the team in which it changed hands thrice in three years - having run as Jordan until 2005, then Midland, then Spyker.

Over the following ten years, the team transcended its precarious financial situation to consistently bother the scorers, and occasionally annexe podium places - a far cry from the tail-ender role it had previously occupied. But the process took time.

Force India's 2008 car, the VJM01, was fundamentally an updated Spyker F8-VII and good for little more than propping up the rest of the field.

Mallya chafed at what he saw as a lack of ambition among senior management and made changes, promoting James Key and Mark Smith to lead development of the 2009 car, which was a clean-sheet design. New rules dictated a new concept, although there was some continuity: the driver line-up of Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil.

Dropping the customer-spec Ferrari package previously used, Force India agreed an engine deal with Mercedes, which was taking on customers for the first time after years of McLaren exclusivity.

The deal went further than just engines; McLaren signed a technical partnership to supply its full drivetrain to the team, including gearboxes and hydraulic systems, setting a precedent for similar tie-ups elsewhere on the grid in future.

Despite the wealth of McLaren expertise in the back of the upcoming VJM02, the late signing of the deal left Force India with much to do at the last minute: the suspension pick-up points had moved with the new gearbox, and this had knock-on effects elsewhere on the car.

McLaren had also agreed upon a deal with the team to supply its kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS) - introduced for 2009 - but Force India elected late on not to run it in the interests of simplicity and tighter packaging.

After plenty of late nights the neat, high-nose, low-drag VJM02 emerged on its 1st March launch date.

Even after the complete design overhaul - and showing reasonable promise - Force India picked up from where it left off the previous season and exited in the first qualifying session of the Melbourne season opener.

Only the inability of Toro Rosso's Sébastien Bourdais to improve in the final stages of the session saved Fisi and Sutil from posting the slowest times.

The status quo remained in the early rounds: the VJM02s flattered to deceive in practice sessions before qualifying proper, when they were usually embroiled in a scrap with Toro Rosso at the bottom of the field.

Refining the car ahead of round four in Bahrain, Force India's engineers developed a new floor complete with en vogue double diffuser, and tightened up the sidepods thanks to not having to package KERS. They also introduced the first of many front wing updates, as the field made continual gains with the new wider geometry.

Monaco handed the team an opportunity as BMW and Toyota struggled with the street circuit's unique demands, while reigning champion Lewis Hamilton dropped out in Q1 with them after a shunt at Mirabeau - handing Force India its first Q2 appearances of the season.

From there, the team produced its best showing so far. Fisichella, a specialist in punching above his weight in flawed cars, perfectly executed a one-stop strategy to bring his car home in ninth - just two seconds behind Bourdais.

Despite progressing steadily through the season, the team didn't have the resources to out-develop its rivals by a significant margin so its place in the pecking order remained relatively static - until the European Grand Prix in Valencia.

Bringing another new front wing package and refining the double-diffuser concept further, the engineers predicted a gain of over half a second - which duly materialised. Sutil roared to 12th on the grid - just 0.02 seconds behind Nick Heidfeld's BMW - and converted it into a 10th place finish.

A week later, trading the Spanish coast for the Ardennes Forest, Force India came up trumps at Spa-Francorchamps, grabbing sixth and eighth in the second and third practice sessions.

Fisichella threatened to challenge in a topsy-turvy weekend in Belgium, and duly did so by storming to the quickest time overall in qualifying - batting away the attempts of Jarno Trulli late on to secure Force India's first ever pole position.

Fisichella got away well at the start of the race, building a solid lead over the fast-starting Ferrari of Kimi Räikkönen in the opening corners, before four cars - including championship leader Jenson Button - tangled at Les Combes, which triggered a Safety Car, bunching up the field.

On the fifth-lap restart Räikkönen was quicker on the draw, powering past Fisichella on the Kemmel Straight with KERS assistance to clinch the lead.

Despite Fisi's best efforts, Räikkönen was resolute in his race-long defence - leaving the KERS-less Force India driver having to be content with second.

Ferrari then prised Fisichella from his seat to replace Luca Badoer, who had struggled deputising for the injured Felipe Massa.

Reserve driver Vitantonio Liuzzi took over for Monza, where the team proved that Spa was no fluke. Strong on the high-speed circuit, especially with the powerful Mercedes engine in the back, Sutil captured another front-row start with the second-quickest time, while Liuzzi started from seventh.

In his first F1 race in over a year, Liuzzi made his way up into fourth place and set his sights on the podium before losing drive on lap 22. It was over to Sutil to pick up the pieces, and he made the best of a two-stop strategy to claim fourth.

That pair of races was Force India's high-water mark with the VJM02. A powerful, slippery car in the right conditions, it signalled the beginning of the steady ascent of the Silverstone-based squad towards the top half of the field.

RACE RECORD

Starts 34
Wins 0
Poles 1
Fastest laps 1
Other podiums 1
Points 13

SPECIFICATION

Chassis Carbon fibre composite monocoque
Suspension Carbon fibre composite wishbones, pushrod-activated torsion springs and dampers.
Engine Mercedes FO108W 90-degree V8
Engine capacity/power 2400cc/750bhp @ 18,000 rpm
Gearbox seven-speed semi-automatic gearbox
Tyres Bridgestone
Weight 605kg
Notable drivers Adrian Sutil, Giancarlo Fisichella, Vitantonio Liuzzi