"Ian will be a project leader for the 2009 car, which means we have also been able to promote Akio Haga, who was formerly head of mechanical design, to the position of project leader for the 2008 car. It's given us a lot more structure, which makes us more dynamic and prepared to action development plans. I believe that with Mark and James at a senior level, a strong support staff, additional resources and experience, we will see a strong impact on the 2008 car and beyond."

The new VJM01 has just two weeks to run before the first race of the season, but Gascoyne does not believe that that will be a disadvantage, as the team has completed a lot of work over the winter.

"We've been testing new parts and looking at reliability," he revealed, "It's just one update we have coming along for the last test and it will be mostly aerodynamic and will have no real impact on reliability. I am not worried that we are just testing them for the first time a very short while before the season as this has been done to give us the maximum time possible in the wind tunnel.

"Over the winter, we have really been working with the new drivers, and we've certainly shown a new level of competitiveness, which is something that will benefit us going forward. There has been a lot of work going on in the background and we should look to go to Australia and be very reliable, especially in the first few races, and pick up whatever we can.

"Last year was very frustrating, but we are now in a position to move forward from a much more competitive baseline. Certainly, you will see that with the new development we should look to racing properly with the midfield as soon as possible."