Formula 1

All the F1 upgrades at the Singapore Grand Prix

by Mark Hughes
3 min read

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With a three-week gap immediately following the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, this event was never likely to be the upgrade bonanza that Austin might be.

But there are still some new developments among the seven teams who have declared updates as Mark Hughes details:

Red Bull

The front brake duct exit area has been increased to cope with the brake cooling demands of this circuit. 

Ferrari

Ferrari has brought a front wing development to Singapore. One with a different geometry across the span of the third and fourth elements. It has been designed to give better downstream airflow in transient conditions (ie, when the car is changing direction).

McLaren

McLaren's reverted to the higher downforce lower beam wing for the demands of the track. 

Aston Martin

Aston has a new front wing with a more aggressive flap to balance the car around the high-downforce rear wing appropriate to this track. 

Alpine

Alpine's brought a more aggressive flap for the rear wing, creating more downforce.

The extra drag induced is less important here than at conventional tracks. 

Williams

New aero sheathing around the front wishbones, track rod and pushrods to optimise the airflow around the new bodywork introduced in Zandvoort.  

The upgrade will only be on Alex Albon's car in Singapore.

"On paper, it works well, have tried it in the simulator," Albon explained on Thursday.

"Depending on circuit, it changes the feeling. A lot of it is trying to tackle the general balance of the car.

"I would say it lends itself a bit more towards street tracks than it does, a track like Austin. It's good to have it before then.

"Honestly it's a little bit of an unknown. On the simulator, you can feel the differences but in terms of a laptime improvement, it will vary track to track what it actually gives us.

"I don't think it's a circuit that normally suits us, at least during the time I've been here. That's a whole ethos behind the weekend, a bit more experimentation.

"Try to understand this new upgrade. But also, if there's anything we can learn now that's going to help us for the rest of the season.

"We're not sacrificing this weekend, but thinking more like we'll need to try different things if we want to be competitive this weekend."

RB

Like Aston, RB has produced a more aggressive front wing flap in order to balance its car around the Singapore high downforce rear wing. 

No upgrades declared: Mercedes, Sauber and Haas.

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