After the grueling “Triple Header,” teams can finally catch their breath to prepare in the best possible way for the new challenge of the season: the Las Vegas Grand Prix. It marks a return to the calendar after a 41-year absence, although the old and new circuits share no segments despite being very close.
The Nevada stage will be a complex challenge for the engineers of the teams and Pirelli. The race presents difficulties with no previous reference, being a brand-new circuit, and will be compounded by very low temperatures during almost all the sessions, as it is a night race. At this time of year, minimum temperatures rarely exceed 10°C. Ross Brawn recently admitted that environmental conditions were underestimated, but at the same time, they will make the challenge more exciting (click here for more details). For comparison, the air temperature at all the races this season, even the “colder” ones, took place in acceptable conditions for the tires.
For Mario Isola, head of the F1 program at the Milanese tire manufacturer, the third stop in the United States is a leap into the unknown: “It’s a step into the unknown, for everyone, I believe,” says Mario Isola, the big boss of Pirelli’s F1 project.
“Las Vegas will be cold, and it is also a city circuit. For this reason, we have worked with the teams and asked them for simulations in advance to try to understand how much energy is put on the tires. We have received information from the companies that produce the asphalt to understand how abrasive it is and what level of grip we can expect. But there are still many question marks about Las Vegas. We have decided to use the three softest compounds in our range to try to generate grip. I can imagine an evolution of the track and very low grip, so they will complain! No problem. We will handle this situation too, but it is a big unknown. A fast track, long straights, high speed, and all challenging conditions to manage.”
The choice of the softest range of dry tires was almost a given. The goal is to speed up tire heating so that it can work in optimal operating conditions. Regarding the teams, we will see unprecedented configurations. Heat dissipation will not be a problem, so the large number of hot air vents in the area between the engine cover and the sidepods will be significantly reduced. In this regard, on the occasion of the launch of the special livery for the gambling kingdom stage, Scuderia Ferrari has produced a rendering that shows what was hypothesized: very few outlets for the expulsion of hot air and a tapered engine cover in the rear part.
Rendering in which only two hot air vents can be seen from the SF-23. Source formula1.it
Rendering in which the tapered engine cover of the SF-23 can be seen. Source formula1.it
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For illustrative purposes, we compared the configuration of the engine cover used by Ferrari in Mexico with the one proposed in the rendering that will probably be adopted in Nevada.
Comparison of the SF-23 Engine Cover used in Mexico and the one that could be used in Las Vegas: @robertofunoat. Source formula1.it
A solution that will certainly be used by all competitors and represents a unique feature in the season, given that a race has never been held in practically winter conditions. It is very likely that during qualifying, some cars, especially Ferrari, will have to do more warm-up laps to bring the tires to an acceptable temperature for a flying lap. What is certain is that many drivers will communicate to their race engineers the lack of grip, especially in the first two sessions on Friday. The hope is that all these uncertainties will make the Las Vegas round enjoyable and unpredictable despite an apparently unexciting layout.
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