McLaren reveals bold sidepod solution as part of Singapore F1 upgrade

The Woking-based team had made a significant number of revisions to its MCL-60 for this weekend’s race around the Marina Bay circuit as it bids to lift its performance in slow corners.

The changes encompass several key areas of the car, but the most obvious is a bold approach to its sidepod design, which features a very deep ‘water-slide’ channel.

With the team having revised the shape and size of its sidepod inlet, it has been able to sculpt a deep valley in the upper sidepod area, while also maintaining an extensive undercut to help with the car aerodynamics.

McLaren MCL60 technical detail

Photo by: Jon Noble

The changes to the sidepod work in conjunction with a revised engine cover, which is aimed at better directing airflow to help the floor produce more downforce.

The floor itself has also been changed, with new fences, floor edge and a different diffuser shape all aimed to bring more load.

McLaren MCL60 technical detail

Photo by: Jon Noble

McLaren has also worked on other key areas of the car, which include new front and rear wing endplate geometry, new aerodynamic parts around the Halo, and a more loaded beam wing geometry because of the high-downforce nature of the Singapore circuit.

The MCL-60 also features a revised rear toe link shroud on the rear suspension which works in conjunction with new brake duct geometry to further enhance performance at the back of the car.

Lando Norris will have exclusive use of the entire upgrade package for this weekend’s Singapore GP, while Oscar Piastri will only get some of the parts for now. Both cars will be fitted with all the new elements for next weekend’s Japanese GP.

Speaking about the changes, Norris said that the focus for the tweaks was on lifting performance in slow corners, which has been a car weakness so far this season.

“Probably since Austria, it is the thing that we believe will kind of help us move forward the most since then,” he said.

“Obviously, we’ve not run it on the track yet and so we don’t want to say too much until we’ve actually got it to work properly but it’s a good step.

“The team have worked hard to get it on one of the cars here, and then we’ll have the rest in Japan too. So, it is an exciting couple of weekends for us.”