After two editions held in 1981 and 1982 on the monitor arrange round Caesars Palace, Method 1 made its grand return to Las Vegas final 12 months. The occasion turned a real weekend spectacle, as anticipated, whereas additionally delivering loads of on-track motion with a number of overtakes, some that includes spectacular braking maneuvers on the finish of the monitor’s longest straight.
The circuit spans 6.201 kilometers, making it the second-longest on the calendar after Spa-Francorchamps (7.004 km), with 17 corners to be tackled 50 occasions. It’s a reasonably quick format, that includes three straights and prime speeds that reached 350 km/h final 12 months. The monitor presents a mixture of corners, from high-speed sections the place rear-end traction will be difficult, to slower segments like chicanes.
In comparison with 2023, groups now have a full season behind them, higher familiarity with the monitor and the tires, making it attention-grabbing to see how they adapt to the challenges and low temperatures of Las Vegas. Temperature swings between day and night time are important as a result of metropolis’s location within the Mojave Desert. Furthermore, scheduling the race on the finish of November means situations are removed from spring-like.
It’s doubtless that automobiles will run in air temperatures round 10°C, whereas monitor temperatures can be barely increased however nonetheless chilly. Final 12 months, the utmost recorded monitor temperature was simply 19°C.
As is customary for a avenue circuit, Pirelli has chosen the softest compounds from its vary for this race: C3 as Exhausting, C4 as Medium, and C5 as Gentle, the identical choice as in 2023. The important thing problem of the weekend can be warming up the tires, particularly throughout qualifying periods, with explicit consideration required for the entrance axle. Drivers might want to rigorously deliver the tires as much as the correct temperature with out over-stressing them whereas avoiding lock-ups in vital braking zones, akin to these on the finish of lengthy straights. It’s vital to contemplate that tires have a tendency to chill on straights, rising the chance of locking up throughout braking.
Moreover, as seen final 12 months, low temperatures cut back grip, which raises the chance of graining. This might additionally result in quicker put on, favoring two-stop methods, which have been standard final 12 months partly as a consequence of race neutralizations attributable to particles. Nonetheless, a single pit cease stays an choice.
As a result of challenges of warming up the tires, early pit stops aimed toward gaining positions usually are not very efficient. Pirelli notes that extending a stint tends to be extra helpful, because the tires are already as much as temperature.
It’s price emphasizing that this 12 months, groups benefit from a 12 months’s preparation, which may make them higher geared up for the Las Vegas problem. The 2023 expertise can be precious not just for the groups but additionally for Pirelli.
A major quantity of knowledge on grip ranges and asphalt roughness was collected and shared with the groups, who in flip supplied their simulations. One of many first duties for each the groups and the Italian tire provider can be to confirm the preliminary roughness and grip ranges of the monitor and examine them with final 12 months’s knowledge. This can be carried out throughout the normal on-track inspections and thru subsequent analyses.
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