Can Force India Succeed with Aggressive New Look in 2015 Formula 1 Season?

If you can't beat them, look like them.

That was the overriding feeling as Force India launched their 2015 Formula One season in Mexico City on January 21, unveiling a dashing new colour scheme which looked remarkably familiar.

The contrasting shades of black, silver and orange was almost a throwback to the West livery once used by McLaren, who ultimately prevented Force India from making their best-ever season even more memorable in 2014.

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The Silverstone-based team had held fifth place in the constructors' championship for much of last season, but a late one-man charge by Jenson Button—who finished fifth or above in four of the last five races—allowed McLaren, one of the most iconic names in the sport's history, to steal the position.

And it left Force India, the plucky underdogs, staring up through that same glass ceiling once again.

But with the mean, moody new look and a host of new sponsors joining the team, could 2015 be the year that Force India—finishing sixth in the standings in three of the last four seasons—finally break into Formula One's "Big Five"?

Although the regulations, after the rip-it-up-and-start-again changes of 2014, will remain relatively stable this year, much effort has still gone into design of the new VJM08 to make the dream a reality.

The team's official website has confirmed that the car—which will not hit the track until the second of three pre-season tests—will be an "evolution" of last season's VJM07.

The differences, though, will be found in the shape of the sidepods, "new cooling intakes" as well as a "completely new rear suspension layout with a new hydro-mechanical system replacing the original torsion springs."

Force India will operate with Mercedes power for the seventh consecutive year in 2015 and should be in a much stronger position to utilise the hallowed Silver Arrows' engine during the campaign.

One of the keys of Mercedes' world title successes in 2014, after all, was the fact that they are a rarity in the sense that they manufacture both their chassis and engine. This meant that they could essentially build their car around the power unit, ensuring that all aspects of the car worked in harmony.

But because the likes of Force India, Williams and McLaren, as customers of Mercedes last season, received the power train at a later date, they would have had a lesser understanding of the product and how to install it within their respective chassis'.

Indeed, they may have even been left scratching their heads in confusion as they opened the packaging to find the unconventional split-turbo design, which was central to Mercedes' dominance last season.

However, with the split-turbo now public knowledge—Motor Sport Magazine's Mark Hughes (h/t Sky Sports) revealed details of the innovation as long ago as last April—and with Force India having 12 months' intimate experience with the Mercedes unit, the Silverstone outfit should benefit even more as far as engine power is concerned.

That power will, of course, be tamed by the right feet of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez, who make up the best driver line-up that a midfield F1 team could wish to have.

For the first time since 2009, Force India are entering a campaign with an unchanged driver pairing, which perhaps highlights the growth of the team's reputation and how the team is no longer a mere stepping stone to bigger and better things.

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In Hulkenberg and Perez, they can achieve both consistent and eye-catching results.

The German cemented his position as one of the most reliable performers on the grid last season by scoring points in all but four races and finished in the top 10 in the opening 10 grands prix, as per the official F1 website.

Perez, meanwhile, lacks the consistency of Hulkenberg, but is the man for the big occasion. The Mexican recorded three podium finishes for the Sauber team in 2012 and claimed Force India's first podium since August '09 with third place in last season's Bahrain Grand Prix.

His reputation for conserving his rubber over a long stint could see the 24-year-old return to the form that earned him a McLaren seat at the end of 2012, with Pirelli boss Paul Hembery recently telling Sky Sports' William Esler that the Italian tyre manufacturer are likely to be more "aggressive" in 2015.

As good as Force India's prospects may look on paper, there remain some niggling concerns about their abilities to fight consistently at the sharp end of the field.

Their lack of financial muscle, in contrast to the leading outfits, was all too apparent in the second half of last season as the team slipped gradually down the pecking order, which was at the root of their failure to resist McLaren.

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Although the team can always be relied upon to produce a solid car, improving the thing throughout a given season and maintaining the initial level of performance is an area where Force India have forever been found wanting and splits their campaigns in two.

That limitation of resources has arguably left Force India stuck with a debilitating small team mentality.

They have made tremendous gains since Vijay Mallya—a man who, unlike some team owners to arrive in F1 in recent years, has remained committed to the project—took control of the team in 2007, going from pointless backmarkers in '08 to knocking on the door of the established front-runners in 2014.

The next hurdle in Force India's path, however, is by far the biggest.

Yet it would not be unfair to argue that the team should have secured the kind of results (nine podiums) that former world champions Williams—who were seemingly on their knees less than two years ago—claimed last season.

Force India, though, are looking stronger than ever ahead of 2015 and should have the chance to make up for their missed opportunities last year.

If the car goes as strong as it will look, Force India will be in for an exciting season.