(Motorsports news) For this year’s F1 race, the series of four almost 90-degree turns that led the course under a grandstand due to construction have been removed. It has been replaced by a new, longer straight section that connects the easy left-hander at Turn 15 with the challenging right-hander at Turn 16, which was once Turn 20.

The modifications will result in substantially faster lap times, lessen the need for brakes, and help drivers maintain tire life for the duration of a full lap. “I think it’s going to be easier on the tyres because all the braking and traction zones and the degradation that comes from that should just be a little bit easier,” said Tom McCullough, director of Aston Martin performance, to.

“On the old layout, what typically happened was that by the end of the lap, your rears in particular were simply stinking hot because there was not much recovery time for the tyres. Your tyres won’t be as awful in these final few turns because this will let them cool off a little. In fact, I believe it makes life simpler for tires.

Due to everything else, “you are still going to be probably at maximum downforce around the circuit, that’s not going to really change too much.” Dave Robson, the head of vehicle performance at Williams, asserted that the FW45, which is typically preferred by high-speed courses, won’t be harmed by track modifications.

The removal of four corners from the arrangement, he remarked, “probably helps us.” “So that’s likely useful. But more seriously, I believe that will significantly alter the nature of that F1 circuit. Not so much with regard to the amount of downforce, but rather with regard to the braking, which is usually challenging there.

“By the time we reach the last sector of F1 Singapore’s circuit, the energy the brakes must contend with and the rear tyre degradation are always particularly challenging. So, obviously, removing those corners from that portion of the circuit changes the circuit’s characteristics quite a bit for everyone. Hopefully, that makes this car work a little bit better.

Esteban Ocon, the Alpine’s F1 driver, suggested that the new Turn 16 would present a chance for overtaking. Regarding the modifications, the Ocon added, “That was very, very good news.” “For the track that you might not particularly love driving around, the improvement is very positive.

“Hopefully it will make overtaking possible, as it was not before. We’ll be able to close the gap, which will affect a lot of things, I’m fairly confident. Faster lap times and faster lap finishes have the fascinating side effect of giving teams less time to decide on their strategy in safety car and variable speed control scenarios, which are frequent in Singapore.

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