Spyker
F1 technical director, James Key has revealed that the teams' new B-spec car will be a 'mix and match'.
Spyker are due to introduce their revised car in August for the Turkish Grand Prix and while they aren't expecting miracles, it should help Christijan Albers and
Adrian Sutil in their bid to get higher up the grid and perhaps even grab a fortuitous point. Key told
Bridgestone's latest
Racing All Over The World Formula 1 podcast that it will build on what is good about the current car.
“We are concentrating on the areas that we know we can deal with as a small team and make the most headway with,” Key explained when asked how it will differ from the current car.
“We are looking at the rear end of the car and at packaging a smaller and neater gearbox and rear suspension - both for mechanical grip and aerodynamic reasons. Rear suspension is an aerodynamic device as much as any other part of the car, which is exposed to the airflow. So we are working on the rear end to improve that.
“We are hoping that will carry over to 2008 too when traction control disappears. We are looking carefully at longer term development with it, so we can benefit from it in the future.
“Primarily at the moment it is also bodywork and re-packaging. We have run the
Ferrari engine now and we know where we are with cooling, what it requires and we are able to refine that now. We played it very safe at the beginning of the season because we didn't go testing, we couldn't. We know where we are now and so we are going to have completely new body-work, but the chassis and suspension and all the aerodynamic devices around these areas will be tuned to the new bodywork.
“It is a mix and match - it is some of the current car, which we know is working fine and it is a refinement and an improvement on areas which we know we can make steps with.”
Furthermore while the B-spec car is a key focus, it doesn't mean they aren't doing anything with the current machine. Indeed Key noted that the main thing they are focusing on with it is the aerodynamics.
