The Las Vegas Grand Prix is just days away. However, recent weather reports have exposed a fault in F1’s planning of the Vegas GP. With the weather predicted to be less than 5 degrees Celsius, the Las Vegas Grand Prix is set to be the coldest race in F1 history.
F1 Managing Director, Ross Brawn has now admitted that they dropped the ball while scheduling the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
“The one thing we hadn’t considered initially but the tire company has dealt with is it gets very, very cold at night. So when the race is happening, which is Saturday night, it has been known to drop down to three or four degrees. It can be really quite cold and of course, getting the cars to work in those temperatures can be a challenge. The tire companies have done some work to make sure the tires can cope with that.”
🗣️ | Ross Brawn on Las Vegas GP compound choices against cold temperature
“The one thing we hadn’t considered initially but the tyre company have dealt with is it gets very, very cold at night. So when the race is happening, which is Saturday night, it has been known to drop… pic.twitter.com/zznmfE3qAx
— RBR News 🇳🇱🇲🇽 (@redbulletin) November 11, 2023
Tire management is a very important aspect of F1. Over the years, the tires used by the cars have gotten more and more sensitive. While this has improved the grip of the tires, it has reduced the life. It has also made it more difficult to get the tires to the right temperature.
With the weather expected to drop to 4 degrees, it will become very hard for the drivers to get the tires warm and to keep them warm as well. The layout of the Grand Prix also doesn’t help the driver. Driving corners and steering left to right quickly usually keeps the tires warm. However, the layout of the Las Vegas Grand Prix does not make it easy as it has a lot of long straights.
Tricky pit exit could provoke awry incidents at Las Vegas Grand Prix
Inside the garage, all of the F1 tires are kept at a temperature of 70 degrees Celsius. However, this is not sufficient to unlock the maximum potential of the tires. In order to unlock the full potential of the tires, the driver will need to get them to at least 80 degrees Celsius. They will have to do so by vigorously swaying the cars.
As soon as drivers fit fresh tires during the race, they will face a challenge while coming out of the pits. As soon as the drivers exit the pit lane, they will have a tight corner. While this will help them warm up the tires, it could get extremely slippery here.
Las Vegas looks READY 🤩
(via @F1LasVegas) pic.twitter.com/een3X6tGeJ
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) November 10, 2023
The F1 drivers will have to take it very slow and carefully in the tires’ first lap. So it will be interesting to see how the drivers cope with this challenge. It would be similar to driving on ice. Fortunately, there is no snow expected for the weekend.
Do you think Max Verstappen will lose grip and lose the Las Vegas Grand Prix? Post your answers in the comment section below.