“It’s the one thing we hadn’t considered at the start. » Ross Brawn admitted it before the drivers’ arrival in Las Vegas. When ratifying the return of Formula 1 to Sin City last year after more than 40 years of absence, the general director of F1 at the time did not take into account the weather conditions of a Grand Prix at night in Las Vegas.
To satisfy broadcasters around the world, the two free practice sessions are scheduled after 8 p.m. this Thursday evening local time, qualifying Friday evening at midnight and the Grand Prix will start on Saturday around 10 p.m. on site (7 hours, French time). At these times, the mercury should drop to around ten degrees in the air, and perhaps below 5°C on the ground, which promises one of the coldest Grand Prix in the history of the F1.
“We forgot about it. It’s very cold at night. When the race takes place, that is to say on Saturday evening, we know that the temperature can drop to three or four degrees. Operating cars at these temperatures can become a challenge,” Ross Brawn told the podcast TalkSport.
“Very difficult to bring tires to life”
Conditions which will put the tires in great difficulty, accustomed to rising in temperature quickly when in contact with warmer ground. “For a race weekend, it’s unique to drive at such low temperatures, so we’ll have to see how easy it is to warm up our tires,” explains Nico Hülkenberg. Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen warns it will be “very difficult” to deal with it all.
Paddock drivers tend to face this kind of condition during winter testing before the start of the season but much more rarely during races. “In this case, it is very difficult to bring the tires to life, there can be graining (a form of tire wear). Sometimes we just wait for it to warm up a little. Having to race and qualify in these conditions will be interesting,” analyzes Andrew Shovlin, director of track engineering at Mercedes.
To try to get around the problem, Pirelli brought the softest possible tire ranges this weekend (C3, C4, C5) to favor better handling on the track. “Tyre manufacturers have made efforts to ensure that tires can cope with these temperatures,” reassured Ross Brawn. The drivers will still have to deal with complicated weather conditions, not to mention potential rain, on a new circuit that they have never tackled… This is why this Las Vegas Grand Prix paradoxically promises to be… very hot!
