The STR4 will therefore become the last 2009 challenger to be officially unveiled ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, as Force India have already confirmed the introduction of their VJM02 on March 1st. Toro Rosso's car will feature the same design used by Red Bull's Adrian Newey on his RB4, but will be powered by a Ferrari engine.
According to the team's boss Franz Tost, the delay in production of the STR4 was caused by some minor problems at the upper arm of the rear suspension, as reported by the aforementioned source. However, the team officials are very confident that the late launch will not alter their performances in 2009, especially since the new aerodynamic package debuted by the Red Bull RB4 earlier this month looks “very satisfying”.
Although they have announced the official launch of their 2009-spec car on Sunday, Force India have already taken their new VJM02 to the track this week. According to GMM news agency, Vijay Mallya's team have concluded their maiden test on the new car during a private session at Silverstone on Wednesday.
No information on how the test went were disclosed. However, the team is expected to make its first official track test of the car during the Jerez meeting next week. According to the aforementioned source, Roman veteran Giancarlo Fisichella is schedule to take the wheel during the first days of testing, before handing it to teammate Adrian Sutil later on.
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