Spyker Formula One driver Sakon Yamamoto at the Hungaroring. Photo / Reuters
LONDON - Formula One tailenders Spyker hope their heavily revamped car will move them up the starting grid when it makes its race debut at Monza this weekend.
"We could see an increase in our race and qualifying pace and be up there in the mix of the
midfield if everything works out," said chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne in a statement.
"We would like to think the update could see us competing with people around us and when you're in that position anything can happen," he added.
"This is just the start and there are many areas of the car we will revisit, there is a lot more to come from this team."
Spyker, who could soon be owned by billionaire Indian businessman Vijay Mallya after he made a $109.3 million bid for the team with Spyker's director of Formula One Michiel Mol last Friday, have scored no points this season.
Their drivers are German rookie Adrian Sutil and Japan's Sakon Yamamoto.
The B specification car was supposed to have made its debut at last month's Turkish Grand Prix but that had to be delayed after it failed a rear crash test.
The car has since passed the test and the Ferrari-powered team ran it for two days in testing at the Italian Grand Prix circuit last week with no mechanical problems.
"The B spec is just really the first step of the development process," said Gascoyne.
"For each subsequent race until the end of the season we have updates in the pipeline leading on to a very intensive development programme over the winter and on to next year's car."
- REUTERS
