F1 is back after the two week break. We have arrived at the ‘night race’ of Singapore. Singapore is a much higher downforce track than Monza where the car were as light as they could possibly be. Now we will see Louvres back and bigger brake ducts for better cooling on the brakes. Here are the Singapore technical updates.
Sauber
First we have Sauber who have brought quite allot of upgrades to the Singapore GP. Firstly they have a new endplate on the C33. as from before there was a relatively small turning vane, now however it has been improved significantly as is now allot longer canard, and is close to the length of the whole endplate. The canard now will be creating a pressure gradient on the outside of the endplate of the front wing, and that will encourage air flow from both the cascade to flow upwards and also pull the airflow through the endplate slot to then move on more freely.
Secondly they have a new engine/sidepod cover for the race. They still retain the same inlet side from Barcelona where they last changed the style. Sauber have compacted the rear of the car more efficiently so that the heat inside the exhaust which will extract more from the power unit they use. Also new on the rear engine cover is that Sauber have taken away the dark great paint which covers most of the C33. It now has bare carbon fibre weaves which are clearly on show. Sauber claim that its more efficient at extracting heat from the power unit and basically it is marginally lighter although the difference wont be as noticeable on track.
Williams
Williams so far only have one new addition to the FW36. Williams have changed the cooling of the rear brakes placing three bottom fins on the duct itself. The reason for this is to make the car even more streamlined and the slots are there to push the air flow over the wheels on the lower surface of the car to create a more up wash affect
Mercedes
The Mercedes guys have brought updates to allot of races especially at the rear of the car where neither drive is happy. This time the WO5 has a tightly compacted engine and hybrid system and PU of the car. But the biggest change is the Y100 winglet (monkey seat). The upper blade has been replaced by twin blades going across the roof like section of the winglet, this change may seem quite small but the way in which controls the airflow will have an effect on the cars performance. The secondary blade is designed to interact with the upper section top flap in hindsight the WO5 can run a much more aggressive angle without being compromised in downforce and drag.
Ferrari
Ferrari will be running some of the 2015 aerodynamic parts on the F14T in Singapore. One of those parts is the rear wing which has 3 2mm turning vanes on the Santander logo and below it too. The reason is that it will give the cars airflow more direct as it exits the rear wing. And will help the car to be pushed into the ground more especially at the kink. But the big news is that Ferrari will test 2 front wings they have for Singapore practice. the First design has an aggressive cut of diagonally on the end of the endplate. But the second intentional design has 2 mainplanes with a small cascade. Ferrari have not commented on them yet.
Force India
They like Sauber have a new endplate with a new turning vane (canard) on the outer side. The pressure gradient on the outside of the endplate of the front wing will encourage air flow from both the cascade to flow upwards. The old design had 3 partly separated endplate trailing outwards. Also new on the VJmo7 is the diffuser where they have two vertical fences on both outer ends on the car and some RBR-esque touches to it also.
Toro Rosso
The front wing on the TSR9 has a small indent under the ‘finger’ nose cone. Its simply there for weight bias foe the electronics of the car. As you dont want the car to be nose heavy or light as turn in will not be as good as it can.
Caterham
The biggest change to the CTO5 is the gearbox. They have changed the outer shell to carbon to encase the gears in and is the same for the bell housing. This will therefore make the rear of the car lighter at the rear, and with the bigger rear wings back it should aid the car slightly in acceleration and straight line speed.
Marussia
Once again a team has worked closely with Ferrari. What they have done is coated the exhaust and manifold in a thermal cloth in so that the heat is kept in. The aim of this is that the more heat in the exhaust pipes the more heat will turn the fan of the turbo and MKU-K and that more power is created. This is what Ferrari did At Spa and the car looked noticeable quicker over the whole track.
McLaren
They have gone back to the 4 blocker suspension packed, The ‘mushroom’ set up involves 4 blockers which have an up wash effect on the airflow to the rear wing, so therefore giving it more downforce. The more they have the more downforce then will have but levels of Drag will go up. Also new for McLaren is the rear brake ducts that have now increased in size in so that the rear’s getting better cooling when high amount of load is applied. It now hows 4 slotted compartments on either side of the suspension so that more air can be fed in to it to help it cool as Humidity is a big factor in Singapore.
RedBull
The biggest change is the exhaust which are now under the inter coolers. A small peace of metal pipe exits the exhaust wrappings and vents between the suspension. This is because the car needs to be even tightly packed so that the car will get better acceleration and mid-corner grip. The second change on the RB10 is the front wing which now has a big cascade from where last time there was non at, low-drag Monza. Th reason being is Singapore is a street circuit so that you need a good toe in on every corner as toy done want to go in to wide. Secondly you want to straighten the steering as quickly as you can to use that to get the best exit you can. All this started from a small wing upgrade which also helps the car is more aspects of the track.
Lotus
Lastly we have Lotus, who have for the season so far had an off set exhaust tail pipe. the reason for this was unclear and strange. Last time out in Monza we were greeted with a symmetrical tail pipe and pylon on the rear of the E22. They will continue with this aerodynamic set up for Singapore. As the exhaust is more central the y100 winglet then can be too, so therefore will create a better up wash effect on the surrounding air flow. Also the exhaust plume is now more central and will therefore create more downforce on what is a unstable car.
