Star Mercedes driver George Russell has slashed the expectations of the highly-anticipated Las Vegas Grand Prix by explaining how he is certain that The Strip “won’t be an iconic track“. The Briton stated that although there are long straights, the slipstream or the DRS is unlikely to help in overtaking.
Ahead of this weekend’s race, the 25-year-old told motorsport-total.com (as quoted by Junaid), “It definitely won’t be an iconic track in terms of the layout“. Russell added that even though the track was designed in a way to improve racing, he is not sure if it has “really worked“.
The Mercedes driver explained his point by adding, “Since we’re all driving with minimal downforce, the slipstream effect won’t be as big. And the DRS is, I think, worth about a tenth per straight“. In stark contrast, Russell stated that the DRS on a track like Barcelona is worth approximately six-tenths.
Such comments from the drivers will not bode well for the F1 organizers as many anticipated that the Las Vegas GP would be a spectacle. F1 have spent over a whopping $500,000,000 to organize the Las Vegas GP and expect that they will earn $1,300,000,000 in revenue.
George Russell explains the challenges the Las Vegas GP track will pose
While speaking in the same interview, George Russell stated (as quoted by racingnews365.com) that the other thing all teams will have to look after closely is the degradation of the tires. He believes that with cold conditions and long straights, the tires are likely to be “really cold and prone to graining“.
The 25-year-old then added how teams will also need to carefully “strike that balance between qualifying and race performances“. Moreover, since there is no support series competing in Las Vegas, teams will also receive no data before their drivers head onto the track.
Another major concern for Russell and Mercedes heading into this weekend is the unpredictability of the W14. The Silver Arrows have been extremely inconsistent over the course of the 2023 season as they have been outstanding on certain weekends and extremely disappointing on others.
Fans got a glimpse of the same recently as Mercedes had contrasting results in Mexico and Brazil. Lewis Hamilton finished the Mexico City GP in second, while he finished eighth in the Sao Paulo GP despite starting the race in fifth. However, since this weekend’s race in Las Vegas will be an unknown for all teams, Mercedes could produce a surprise.
