The Force India VJM03 was a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

car designed and built by the

Force India Force India Formula One Team Limited, commonly known as Force India and later Sahara Force India, was a Formula One racing team and constructor based in Silverstone, United Kingdom, with an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 20 ...

team for the season. It was driven by

Adrian Sutil Adrian Sutil (; born 11 January 1983) is a German-Uruguayan racing driver who raced in Formula One for seven seasons: from 2007–2011, then 2013–2014. He drove for the Spyker F1 Team, Force India F1 Team and the Sauber F1 Team. He was also t ...

and Vitantonio Liuzzi and was unveiled online, on 9 February 2010. The car made its track début the following day at the second group test at Circuito de Jerez. In

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

, Sutil finished first in FP1. Sutil and Liuzzi then qualified 10th and 12th respectively. Liuzzi finished ninth, scoring two points, while Sutil spun in an oil leak caused by Mark Webber in the Red Bull before finishing outside the points, in twelfth position. The VJM03 built on the progress made with the 2009 car and was a contender for points straight out of the box. But the team lost several top members of staff in the first half of the season. Among them was a man who had been with them since their first year as Jordan in 1991 – Ian Phillips. That setback for the team’s commercial side was joined by a double blow to the technical department. First technical director as James Key left for Sauber, then four months later his successor Mark Smith was also gone, heading for Lotus. Losing two major technical figures seemed have an inevitable effect on car development. Although F-duct and exhaust-blown diffuser upgrades arrived for the VJM03 (at Turkey and Hungary respectively) the team weren’t always getting them to work consistently, and Liuzzi in particular struggled with the blown rear wing. As the season wore on Force India saw less of Renault and Mercedes and more of Sauber and Williams in the races. The gap between Liuzzi and Adrian Sutil was large at times. Liuzzi was usually out-qualified by his team mate and the gap was often in the region of half to a full second. Liuzzi’s best qualifying performance, sixth at Canada, was spoiled after a collision with Felipe Massa at the first corner. Adrian Sutil 2010 Malaysia 3rd Qualify

Complete Formula One results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Driver failed to finish, but was classified as they had completed >90% of the race distance.

References

External links

Force India Formula One cars {{F1-stub