Revealed: The worst tyre scenario to fear at the Las Vegas Grand Prix

Uros Radovanovic
The Pirelli tyre range

Pirelli will bring their softest compound to Vegas.

At last, the eagerly awaited Las Vegas race of this season has arrived. A city known for its glamour, opulent hotels, and casinos is about to turn into a grand racing extravaganza in the next few days.

However, one of the most discussed topics currently is the surprisingly low temperatures expected in Vegas.

We will thoroughly analyse how this unusual occurrence for Formula 1 will affect tyres, engines, drivers and more. Let’s look at the technical side of this issue to understand what we can expect during this race weekend.

The Cold Side of Las Vegas

Given that Las Vegas is in the desert, there’s a vast difference between daytime and night time temperatures. Daytime temperatures might hover around 15 degrees Celsius, dropping to about 5 degrees at night. Since the Las Vegas race begins at 10 PM local time, very low temperatures are anticipated, compared to other races.

Reviewing all this year’s night races, we can notice they’ve all been held in warm climates – except Las Vegas. This raises a key question: how will the tyres perform under such low temperatures?

Tyre temperature is a critical element in Formula 1 racing. If it’s too high, the tyre wears out quickly, losing grip. Conversely, if it’s too low, the tyre is too “hard” to provide effective friction. Thus, maintaining tyres within their optimal temperature range is crucial.

There are several ways to reach and maintain this temperature during a race. First, tyres are warmed up before races using special tire covers. Then, it’s up to the driver’s skill.

Tyres cool down on straights where they are less burdened and heat up in corners, wearing out simultaneously. In general, faster corners and parts of the track that require high grip heat the tyre the most. The level of aerodynamic downforce also has a lot to do with it.

The Main Question in Las Vegas

A lower external temperature complicates matters, directly reducing tyre adherence to the asphalt. Less grip means slower speeds and lap times, which no team desires.

If drivers fail to bring the tyres within the optimal temperature range, cold tearing of the tyres can occur. This means the tyre wears in an atypical manner. Due to the immense forces, the tyre’s outer layer starts to physically split, drastically impacting performance. This is one of the worst scenarios that could unfold on race day in Las Vegas.

It’s also vital to consider how working temperatures are achieved. For maximum efficiency, tyres need to be completely warmed up, through the entire tyre layer – which requires time. If only the surface layer warms up, which is quite possible in Vegas, tyres won’t function as expected.

When we add the track configuration to the equation, the situation doesn’t improve. Las Vegas is a fast track with high speeds and not many curves.

The longest straight, passing through the city’s famous Strip, is nearly 2 kilometres long, giving the tyres more than enough time to cool down below the limit.

An interesting point to note is that on Azerbaijan’s main straight, tire temperatures typically drop by 30 degrees Celsius, which is a considerable difference. In Vegas, we can expect this figure to be even more extreme, surely causing major issues for everyone.

Qualifying problems and Pirelli’s safety measures

We shouldn’t overlook qualifying, either, where cars need to be the fastest and achieve maximum possible grip.

Under normal conditions, each driver has one, at most two, preparatory laps to bring the car, battery, and tyres to the optimal state for a fastest lap attempt.

This weekend, that will likely not be the case, so we can expect over three preparatory laps. As a result, drivers will have less time and fewer attempts to achieve the fastest lap. From the spectators’ perspective, this might not be so bad as it increases the chances of something unexpected happening.

On the other hand, Pirelli, the main F1 tyre supplier, has already introduced some measures to help teams. Primarily, they have made available the softest tyre compounds – C3, C4, and C5.

However, the most significant change, perhaps going unnoticed, is the increase in minimum tyre pressure.

Essentially, higher pressure will significantly reduce the time needed for the tyre to warm up to its optimal temperature. Now, the lower limit for front tyres will be 27psi, which is quite high compared to the 23psi limit set by Pirelli before the Brazil race.

Who benefits the most from this?

One assumption is that teams that have struggled with tyres earlier might have a slight advantage here – like Ferrari and Haas.

It’s known that Ferrari has had issues throughout the season with maintaining tyre temperature and traction. Additionally, their car performs exceptionally well on low-downforce tracks, just like Las Vegas.

The cold air also greatly increases air density, creating a completely opposite situation compared to Mexico and Brazil. In theory, this won’t suit teams like Mercedes and AlphaTauri, but it is still very difficult to make cast-iron predictions

The whole race in Las Vegas is so specific that the only sure thing is that something unforeseen will happen.

From the picture below we can see some of the aero configurations of the teams.

The medium-low downforce wing is a sign that the teams will still focus on maximum speeds on the straights. This will significantly reduce times in other parts of the track and will not be good for warming up the tyres.

What needs to be emphasised is that we are sure to have a very fun weekend. Conditions like these will highlight the drivers’ abilities even more in a sport where the machinery can often be the most dominant factor.

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