McLaren to scrap titanium diffuser for Malaysia

McLaren has good reason to expect another step forwards in Malaysia next weekend.

After a dire winter period, the British team scrapped its complex ’octopus’ exhaust system before Melbourne and moved onto the pace with a Red Bull-inspired layout.

And the same layout is set to be lighter at Sepang next weekend, according to Auto Motor und Sport.

"We had to manufacture the parts for the new exhaust in a very short time," confirmed team boss Martin Whitmarsh.

"So we had to build the diffuser entirely of titanium which, of course, cost us some extra weight," added the Briton, clearing up the mystery of McLaren’s oddly light-coloured diffuser at Albert Park.

For Malaysia, the significantly lighter diffuser in carbon and exotic Pyrosic heat shielding will be ready.

In a spot of bad news for Mercedes fans, however, Norbert Haug has revealed that the struggling W02 will feature "no radical changes" in either Malaysia or China a week later.

"Our goal in Malaysia and China is to drive as much as possible without problems in order to set up the car well for the track, which is something we did not achieve in Melbourne," said the German.