F1 Tech Preview | How will temperatures affect the Las Vegas Grand Prix?

With only two races left, the F1 circus approaches the newly introduced Las Vegas Circuit, one of the most spectacular and glamorous places of the year. Apart from the show and the glitters typical of this city, the Las Vegas Grand Prix will be unique for its layout and the climate conditions that will affect the weekend.

The circuit has very long straights (the longest is about 2 kilometres on the famous Las Vegas Strip!), some twisty chicanes and slow hairpins, where it is important to have a well-balanced car not only under braking but also in traction to reach a good speed in the straight lines.

Another problem will be very low temperatures, expected around 10°C-12°C during Saturday’s night race. The main limitation, in fact, will be to keep the temperature in the front tyres, as they’ll cool off massively on the straights and, with only a medium high-speed corner, graining could be a determining factor during the race.

These aspects, together with a brand new tarmac, will make it very difficult for the engineers to find a good set-up for their cars; let’s look at which choices they’ve made this weekend.

Ferrari and Red Bull could fight for the win

Red Bull have decided to bring a low downforce rear wing this weekend, the same version already used in Spa, Miami and Baku. The main plane has a little spoon shape, with the leading edge inclined quite upwards, to increase the mass of air flowing on the airfoil and generate more downforce. Regarding the DRS flap, it has a fairly noticeable chord compared to the other teams' wings. This solution is designed to increase the power of the DRS when it is opened on the long straights (the larger the DRS flap is, the greater the "window" when the system is activated). For now, there’s no visible Gurney flap on the trailing edge of the rear wing, but if the temperature will be too low to keep the tyres in the right working window, the team will adopt this solution as well. 

This rear wing will probably be matched with a low downforce beam wing, made of a single element, to reduce drag as much as possible, as the track has super long straights, but to help in the diffuser in the flow extraction, as its shape is a sort of a diffuser “extension”.

This rear wing solution has the main goal to help the drivers keep the tyres alive throughout the whole lap and to manage the rear tyres during the race because they’ll cool off in the straights and will be put under pressure out of the slow speed hairpins, losing grip as the laps go by.

As has already happened this year, Red Bull will run a higher downforce spec compared to their rivals, helped by their car’s high efficiency with the DRS wide open. This could give them a huge advantage in putting heat into the tyres: as we already explained, temperatures will be very low and having the possibility to run a higher downforce rear wing without losing too much drag can help the RB19 in waking up the rears without damaging them in the long distance.

Ferrari could be quite strong around here: the SF-23 has always proved to be quick around tracks like Monza and Baku, with long straights and slow-speed corners where mechanical grip is required. For this reason, the team has brought two different rear wing specs this weekend: the first one, already used in Baku, has a flat main plane with a very short chord to reduce drag as much as possible. The DRS flap is very forward-leaning and has a longer chord than the main plane, again to increase the effect of the DRS when activated. This spec, however, has double-pylon support, which may better support vibrations from contact with asphalt and kerbs but is not ideal in terms of drag.

The second specification, however, shows a completely different design: it is a medium-low downforce wing already used at Spa, with a spoon mainplane but with a reduced chord. This solution could guarantee more flow of air and therefore more load generated. The DRS flap has a greater chord with a noticeable nolder and a fairly accentuated Gurney in the central part of the wing to increase the downforce. Unlike the other, this spec also features a cut in the endplate transition and a mono-pillar support to reduce drag as much as possible.

Since the main limitation will be to warm the fronts, the Maranello team has decided to bring the same front wing spec they used in Monza, with the last flap trimmed, to reduce drag as much as possible but to be able to keep the fronts alive at the same time. 

During the race, however, Ferrari could suffer from graining on the fronts (as the SF-23 is known to have understeer), which could cause some troubles in tyre management.

Mercedes, Aston Martin and McLaren could struggle 

Mercedes, Aston Martin and McLaren could well be a big question mark this weekend: Mercedes has never been strong on this kind of circuit due to the draggy nature of their car. To limit this factor, the team has brought the same rear wing spec they used in Spa and Monza, with a flat main plane and an almost flat DRS flap, to reduce drag as much as possible, especially with the DRS closed. Seeing the W14 progress throughout the year, this solution could cause some rear instability, leading to rear tyres overheating.

On the other hand, McLaren could gain an advantage from MCL60's ability to put a lot of energy into the tyres: this aspect can't be taken for granted on a cold and brand-new tarmac. Even though the Woking team’s car has not been designed to be quick in straight line and slow-speed corners, they could gain important positions during the race. 

Finally, Aston Martin has never been strong on low downforce circuits, even though the great step made last time in Brazil could help the team find the right set-up for this race. In fact, they decided to bring the same rear wing spec they used in Baku, which should guarantee high top speeds, especially when DRS is activated. Moreover, the AMR23's ability to manage the tyres could be a big help in cold Vegas nights. 

Last but not least, there is a curious aspect that must be analysed: on this track, the grid spots will not all be straight, as often happens, but the last rows will have to be arranged along the last corner (a fast curve); this could represent a crucial safety problem because, in the event of a driver stalling at the start, the driver starting from the rear rows might not see him and hit him. Obviously, we hope that this does not happen, but it could be a warning that in addition to the show, the main goal must always be safety.