McLaren does not want to lose the advantage it has gained: the Woking team has brought to Singapore a modification to the beam wing to increase the downforce on the Marina Bay street circuit which requires a configuration that seeks downforce.
On the MCL38 we could see the beam wing which is made up of two elements: the lower one is at maximum chord with a lot of incidence, so much so that it resembles a continuation of the rear extractor, while the upper one mounted further forward in an offset position takes the shape of a gull wing and has the aim of generating a sort of second extractor.
The McLaren MCL38 diffuser
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
In the first free practice session, Lando Norris gave the clear impression of being able to perfectly keep up with the Ferrari, which on paper seems to be the car best suited to the characteristics of the Asian track.
McLaren has so far always brought modifications to the track that worked perfectly the first time, demonstrating that the “universal” car can grow with development work.