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Post by wilmywood8455 on Sept 19, 2023 11:58:49 GMT -8
McLaren brought a further updated MCL60 to Singapore, but it was that team’s previous big update – in Austria – which seemed to have triggered a light bulb moment in other teams, judging by the very similar updates brought here by Alfa Romeo, Alpine and AlphaTauri.When McLaren lifted up the forward part of their sidepod – and with it the floor tunnel inlets – with the Austria update, it hit upon probably one of the Red Bull RB19’s secrets and gave the McLaren a huge performance boost.
Essentially Alfa Romeo, Alpine and AlphaTauri brought to Singapore variations of that same update. All four cars now feature much enhanced undercuts to the front of the sidepod, enabling a greater downward slope for the beginning of the tunnel.
The downforce-generating tunnels are at the heart of the ground effect principle in this generation of car. The air entering the tunnel inlets is accelerated down that slope and towards the ‘choke point’ (where the tunnel walls are at their closest point to the ground) towards the back of the tunnel – before then opening out into the upward sweep of the diffuser, which returns the air to expand into the atmospheric pressure outside.
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