This weekend, Components 1 will race in Las Vegas for the fourth time. After two occasions held on a observe constructed round Caesars Palace in 1981 and 1982, final 12 months the Grand Prix discovered a brand new residence within the leisure capital of the world, with the circuit incorporating a part of the well-known Strip from which it takes its title.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix is the third occasion this 12 months held in the US, alongside Miami and Austin. Following the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, which is 7.004 kilometers lengthy, the Nevada observe is the second longest on the calendar at 6.201 kilometers. It options 17 turns, to be tackled over 50 occasions in the course of the race. The Strip circuit is a high-speed observe with three straights and quite a few overtaking alternatives, notably at flip 14.
As soon as once more this 12 months, on-track motion will start with two observe periods kicking off the occasion on Thursday, main as much as the Saturday night time race, which is able to happen fully beneath floodlights. Whereas Las Vegas shouldn’t be the one GP held at night time, no different observe experiences such a big drop in temperature from day to nighttime as this weekend’s occasion.
That is because of the metropolis’s location within the Mojave Desert. Moreover, the November date guidelines out the spring or summer season local weather that characterizes most Grand Prix races. In consequence, automobiles are more likely to race in air temperatures of round 10°C.
As is customary for road circuits, Pirelli has chosen the three softest compounds within the vary, with the C3 as Arduous, C4 as Medium, and C5 as Mushy, the identical as in 2023. The principle problem for tires shall be warming them up, particularly throughout qualifying, notably for the entrance axle. Drivers might want to guarantee they carry the tires as much as temperature with out overloading them, avoiding lock-ups throughout harsher braking. Furthermore, the low temperatures scale back grip and might trigger elevated graining. These elements would possibly speed up tire put on, suggesting a two-stop technique, which was the commonest selection final 12 months. Nevertheless, a one-stop technique may be extremely aggressive, particularly if the driving force progressively brings the tires as much as temperature, extending their sturdiness for an extended stint. As a result of problem in warming up the tires, pitting early to get well positions with an undercut shouldn’t be very efficient, and certainly, extending the primary stint is the higher selection.
As at all times on a road circuit, purple flags and Security Vehicles are a robust risk, with all of the uncertainties this may convey, together with tire temperature administration throughout restarts.
In 2023, Max Verstappen crossed the end line first forward of Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez. The tires used within the race had been Medium and Arduous, with the yellow-banded tire most well-liked by most drivers on the beginning grid.
This 12 months’s Las Vegas Grand Prix would be the 79th occasion of the World Drivers’ Championship held in the US for the reason that sequence started in 1950. This brings the US degree with Germany and Nice Britain in second place for probably the most Grand Prix hosted by a single nation, with solely Italy forward, having hosted 107.