McLaren and AlphaTauri roll out big upgrades in Singapore

Singapore's Marina Bay was the scene on Friday of an unusually high number of significant upgrades rolled out by F1 teams, with McLaren and AlphaTauri leading the changes.

While everyone is now winding down their development programmes back at base, the results of the teams' findings over the summer continue to find their way on their cars.

However, as a street circuit, Singapore wasn't expected to witness such an array of revisions and changes.

• Read also: Norris handed biggest MCL60 upgrade since Austria for Singapore GP

McLaren's Lando Norris contended on Thursday that the Woking-based team's package at Marina Bay was as significant as the wholesale changes introduced in Austria back in early July, and the team hopes that it will enjoy a similar step forward.

Team papaya has listed nine alterations to MCL60 car, all of which are aerodynamic in nature with the changes including new front wing endplates, sidepod inlets, a new halo, floor body, coke/engine cover, a new rear corner and rear suspension, rear wing endplate and a new circuit-specific beam wing.

Most of the new elements work in conjunction with each other for the purpose of improving air flow and flow conditions from the front to the rear of the car. The end result will hopefully improve McLaren's performance in slow speed corners.

With a total of eight listed updates components, AlphaTauri is also running a massively changed car in Singapore. The AT04 now sports a new floor body, floor edge, diffuser, a circuit-specific sidepod inlet, coke/engine cover and rear suspension.

The wholesale changes on the Faenza-based outfit's machine aim to "optimize flow" and increase "local load" in order to improve the car's aero efficiency.

On its revised coke/engine cover, the team says that its "upper outboard bodywork has also been reprofiled to keep front wheel wake losses further away from the rear floor, increasing local load".

Red Bull has modified the floor edge and rear wing endplate on its RB19, admitting that the latter modification, done to offer more "local load to the element", was inspired by its rivals' designs.

Mercedes' only tweak on its W14 is an updated front corner on the car that features a large front brake induct and exit that enables more air mass flow for improving cooling capacity around Marina Bay.

Ferrari's single modification is a reprofiled front wing flap on its SF-23 which is part of the Italian outfit's standard development cycle.

Aston Martin's AMR23 features an updated rear corner with a revised profile of the lower edge of the lower deflector to increase load on surrounding devices.

Alpine has introduced for this weekend a new raised and staggered sidepod inlet on its A523 and revised colling louvres to boost cooling levels. The car also features a track-specific beam wing that helps increase top rear wing load.

Williams' FW45, draped in a special Gulf Oil tribute livery in Singapore, is running an updated front wing that features a new, larger Gurney flap that increases the loading of the wing to provide additional forward aero balance.

Finally, Alfa Romeo has updated four elements on its C43: its floor fences, diffuser, rear corner and front wing in a bid to improve the overall aero efficiency of its car.

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