Virgin to unveil upgrades at Monza

The back of the MVR02 will be 'much tighter' for Monza © Sutton Images

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Virgin Racing team boss John Booth is confident that his team can make further gains in relation to their rivals with new upgrades to the MVR02 chassis reported to be ready for Monza.

Although Virgin completed its ninth double finish of the season at Spa, the team has fallen short of its own expectations. But with new developments set to be unleashed over the Italian Grand Prix weekend, Booth is confident the team can close the gap on main rivals Lotus.

"We face the final part of the season with confidence and ready for the flyaways which we have already started packing for," said Booth. "After coming back from the summer break and achieving the ninth double finish of the season in Spa, we clearly know the way to continue and we just have to demonstrate our excellent reliability until the end of the season.

"We had an update in the pipeline for Silverstone, and we sidelined it because we did not think it was worth the effort at the time," Booth told Autosport. "But as Pat got to grips with the CFD evaluation of it, and looked into it a bit deeper, he thought it was well worth doing, so he pressed the button on that. We will have it, all being well, for Monza. It is engine cover, sidepods, exhaust, and rear floor. Obviously there will be a Monza wing as well, but this bodywork package will be on for the rest of the year. It will pull the whole back of the car in much tighter.

"Here the emphasis is on engine power and aerodynamic efficiency, which require the cars to be set up with a special low-downforce aerodynamic profile to minimise drag. This can make the car a bit difficult to handle, particularly on the brakes for the first and second chicanes. The famous Lesmos, Ascari and Parabolica turns are all about balance: if the driver has the right balance then he has the confidence to carry speed through the corner and into the next straight."

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