On 18 November 2023, the light will go green around the Las Vegas Strip for the first Las Vegas GP. The 23rd round of the season will be under the bright neon lights of ‘Sin City.’ But F1 has a major challenge before the cars are ready to race in Vegas.
Although it sports hot weather for most of the year, the month of November is quite chilly in Las Vegas. Daytime temperatures in Mid-November range from 20°C (68°F) to 25°C (77°F). But the temperature plunges to 10°C (50°F) or even 3°C(37°F) at night.
The race is set to begin around 10 PM. This means the temperature could range in single digits and drivers would struggle to get their tyres warm.
Tyre blankets might come to aid as teams would blast the heat until the very last minute when the cars leave for the Formation lap. But with the FIA planning to remove tyre blankets in F1, Pirelli finds itself midst of a tricky challenge and a race against time.
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Why tyre temperature could be a major problem in Las Vegas?
Within a year’s time from now, F1 will be headed to the inaugural Las Vegas GP. But with an average nighttime temperature below 10°C (50°F), it could be one of the coldest races in the F1 calendar.
The desert city’s cold would impact an F1 car’s tyres to gain temperature. Cold tyres lack grip and are prone to lock-ups or losing control. They take a longer time to warm up which could impact the race of a driver.
A cold track means the tyres would not be able to stay warm too. Added to that. the Las Vegas circuit’s long straights and few corners mean gaining and maintaining tyre temperature could be a major problem. It gets worse if there is an interruption like a Safety car restart or Red Flag as the tyres go cold quickly.
The FIA may allow teams to use the tyre blankets to the utmost. But it plans to phase them out from the 2024 season onwards. So the focus shifts if Pirelli can deliver a tyre that can run in cold weather. And the answer doesn’t look positive enough.
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Pirelli is not equipped for cold tracks yet
Pirelli tested 2023 tyres at FP2 in COTA and Mexico. These tyres need to be warmed up only to 50°C (122°F) instead of the current 70°C (157°F).
COTA was warmer than Las Vegas would be. Yet the results were convincing as drivers like Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc suffered a crash in Mexico. And Max Verstappen was quite vocal about his distaste fo the new tyres.
“I don’t really enjoy it,” Verstappen remarked. He added, “Austin is still a track where you can easily switch on the tyres because of the high-speed corners.”
“But if you go to a track like a street circuit, like Monaco, can you imagine half-and-half conditions, I think it would take like half the race before you have temperature in your tyres.”
Pirelli’s Motorsport Director, Mario Isola confirmed that drivers were unhappy with the new sets. Pirelli will be working on the new tyres and has also directed the teams on how to maintain the temperature in blankets, but there seems to be a discourse.
Isola clarified, “We know from the test in Austin that to remove the blankets we have to design a completely new tire. Not just the construction but all the five compounds.”
The teams wished to maintain higher temperatures for a longer time rather than dropping down gradually. But Isola claims the test was a good indication and Pirelli is working on keeping the 2024 ruling in mind.
F1 might have to abandon its hopes for reducing tyre blanket temperatures. Which might even bring the 2024 target under scrutiny. But Pirelli needs to step up to the challenge of delivering tyres that can maintain temperatures in the cold yet glamourous Las Vegas night.
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