Force India launch 2015 livery in Mexico City

Force India today became the first team to give a live reveal to its 2015 livery, with the launch of its new team colours in Mexico City.

Williams yesterday partially showed off its 2015 challenger with a reveal on the cover of F1 Racing magazine, but today Force India's senior personnel gather at the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City to show off the silver, orange and black colours that will grace the VJM08 when it makes its track debut at the second pre-season test in Barcelona next month. Force india have already announced that the team will miss the first test in Jerez.

Immediately striking is the fact that Force India has picked up yet another sponsor from Sauber, with NEC joining Telmex, Claro and Jose Cuervo as brands that adorned the Sauber car in the last three seasons and have switched to the Silverstone based outfit. NEC was one of the few sponsors on last year's Sauber.

"The 2015 car is a refinement of what we learned in 2014," said Team Principal Vijay Mallya. "Another major step forward is the technology change, in that we are now using a 60 per cent wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany which is a far bigger step than we have ever taken before.

"Traditionally we have been in Brackley, England, where we used to develop our car with a 50 per cent model and an outdated wind tunnel," he added. "With this new and important tool available to use, we hope the 2015 challenger will really prove its worth in competing with the big boys of F1 when we start the European season.

"We are lucky to have two exceptional drivers who will hopefully steer the Sahara Force India challenger to the front of the grid, and hopefully a few podiums during the current year."

Commenting on the design challenges that faced the team, and F1 squads in general, ahead of the 2015 season, Technical Director Andrew Green said: “The front of the car looks very different from what we had developed previously. It is a redesign that involved a lot of work over the winter, as the new regulations caused a loss in terms of downforce and we’ve been working to claw back all that performance.”

The event was heavily accented on Mexico's return to the F1 calendar for the first time since 1993 and Sergio Perez admitted that racing in front of his home crowd would be "the most special race of my career".

"To come back [to Mexico] with a project like this is very emotional," said the Guadalajara native. "It's very emotional to be close to my family and my friends, the people who supported me throughout my career. I know they have the same feeling "I’m really happy (about racing in Mexico)," he added. "Since I was 12 years old I never raced in Mexico so to come back this year and race in F1 is an amazing feeling. No matter what result I get it will be the most special race of my career. It’s something very special as a racing driver as a human for myself."