Two weeks off and Let's start once again. F1 continues this American parenthesis by returning to the USA. A first time on this circuit, with memories of those areas that hark back to the years 80. The top series of motorsport arrives at Las Vegas.
A shock announcement and little time to fix: the history of the Las Vegas circuit
The Las Vegas Strip Circuit is a semi-permanent circuit located in the town of Paradise, adjacent to Las Vegas, Nevada. Is long 6201 meters, and it is the longest route on the calendar, behind only that of Spa-Francorchamps. Presents 17 curves, 11 on the left and 6 on the right, and go counterclockwise. There will be the possibility to use the DRS in 2 zone, the first on the main straight, the second on the famous one las vegas boulevard, said it Strip. This is the stretch between turn 12 and turn 14 (turn 13 is full and is part of the straight).
After the announcement in March 2022, the works were continuous to try to be already scheduled in 2023. The choice of the area where to build the track has always been based on one factor: including the Strip straight in the project. The cars, in fact, will pass the entire most important street of Las Vegas, populated by Casino ed luxury hotel.
For Las Vegas it is not a real one first time with the Formula 1 circus. In 1981 e 1982, two grand prix were raced, the first won by Alan Jones, and the second from Italian Michael Alboreto.
Very low temperatures and impressive speeds: these are the keys to understanding the race in Las Vegas
Very close walls and speeds that will even touch the 340 km/h (as expected). Seen this way, a close comparison could be made with Jeddah. But, looking more specifically, we notice how the Las Vegas track is much closer to that of Monza. Few corners (generally chicanes) and speed awesome. The aerodynamic load that will be observed on the single-seaters will therefore be similar to that of the Lombard weekend.
However, using such an extreme setup could be worthwhile almost impossible from temperature scheduled for weekend evenings. As also confirmed by Ross Brawn, it had not been taken into consideration that in America, in the desert, in November, the temperatures are very low. In fact, they are expected 5 or even 4 ° C. This will lead teams to ask their drivers for a out lap done with extreme calm, to try to get the tires into the right position operating window.
So much unpredictability and only one certainty, even in Las Vegas
New track, no data available except that of the simulators. In a “normal” season making gods predictions it would be very difficult. But in a year like this, where Max Verstappen does what he wants, you can't help but tell him how Favourite for winning this grand prix. Its adaptation to any conditions is phenomenal, and it probably won't take many turns to be as competitive as possible. Who could act as a mosquito for the Dutch phenomenon is the Ferrari. We did very well in Monza, and the American circuit has some similarities to the Italian one. In some curves (like 6) the Red could suffer, but at the same time it could go strong in areas where the traction will be important. We are talking about sections such as the one that connects the Strip to the main straight, where the Maranello car can manage to exit well and bring excellent speed to the finish line. And then, with a livery that recalls the glorious past of the Modena team, it is right that i supporters dream big.
Article by Francesco Orlando
