Learn from Coffee Corner Motorsport- Terry Widdows - our technical correspondent about all things tech and car upgrades during each Formula 1 weekend!
Just a week after Baku we are back again for Round 18 and Singapore. As suspected there are not a huge amount of updates for the teams with it being a back to back race, but we have some changes to look at and with the McLaren Rear Wing being the topic of debate - F1 tech is firmly in the limelight.
So with all of that, lets take a look at the updates that have caught my eye in Singapore.
We have all been expecting this update and Ferrari have rushed this wing through after the FIA gave the green light to the development following the checks on McLaren and Mercedes' Front Wing.
The Ferrari has a revised 3rd and 4th element which the team has said is not track specific but is an upgrade that offers performance and flow improvements. This wing looks like it has the flex that's the topic of debate in F1 currently in that the wings under load are flexing and enhancing performance - while still passing all of the FIA checks.
While there will be some work to match the performance of the teams who have run this wing for a while, it's no doubt a step in the right direction. This update is actually similar to an earlier Ferrari design that was shelved and has a redesign to the upper flaps and also to the end plates as well.
Williams have an update to their front suspension which is only on Alex Albon’s car. Franco Colapinto will have the older front suspension for this weekend. This is a change to the wishbone, track rod, and updated pushrod geometries. There are also minor updates to brake ducts and chassis legs to go alongside it.
The team has said that this is to revise the flow of air that the Dutch GP updates have brought, so it seems that it's designed to help that flow that has slightly changed since the heavily updated Dutch GP Williams Car was introduced. It's a step up for the performance that Williams are hoping will help continue their recent upturn in form.
This update from Aston Martin is a track specific update to their Front Wing. The team have increased the flap on the AMR24, which the team have said is to increase the load generated. This will work in tandem with the rear wing that has been selected for this track, due to the nature of the circuit. The idea of this increased load is to “pull the car down” at the front so that it's still able to attack the slow speed sections while not losing too much in terms of speed.
Alpine have brought a new rear wing with them to Singapore which features a re-profiled top rear wing main plane. While not technically track specific, it's aimed at tracks with these characteristics and the high downforce nature required around here. The wing is aiming to increase the loading and improve the downforce.
A team in the spotlight for off track things currently have a track specific update for on track with their circuit specific front wing. It has a larger front flap which is designed to aid the car around Singapore by increasing the load to cope with the high downforce needed here.
That's all for Singapore with a mini break coming up. There are a lot of teams using this to bring an upgrade package to Austin which will most likely be the last big development push for a lot of the teams with all to play for still for a lot of the teams.
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