Cold, lack of grip, straight lines: the challenge of Las Vegas, explained by Racing Bulls

After two weeks of well-deserved break, the Formula 1 will attack his last triple-header of the 2024 championship with the Grand Prix of Las Vegas as the entry. A year after the return of the discipline to the Sin City, on this new 6,2-kilometer circuit, the ten teams return to Nevada with a better knowledge of the specificities of this track. And like last year, drivers and teams will have to face major challenges and crucial choices regarding the settings of their car.

Beyond the glitz and glamour, the Las Vegas Grand Prix is ​​also a real headache for engineers and drivers. The circuit is a mix of (very) long straights, very slow corners and therefore, re-acceleration zones. Not to mention the autumnal, not to say winter, temperatures in the City of Angels that make warming up the tires very difficult, on an urban tarmac and therefore not rubberized.

“It’s an unusual circuit, very long for a street circuit, with mainly slow corners, so the car set-up is a compromise between having enough downforce to help with braking at the end of the straight and having good traction out of the corners, while not having too much drag that affects your top speed, Explain Yuki tsunoda. It gets very cold at night, so one of the main challenges is to keep the brakes and tyres in the right operating window during a long stint in the race and during a fast lap in qualifying.

Las Vegas, an aerodynamic puzzle

Finding a good compromise between cornering support and top speed in a straight line seems like an impossible mission for teams, who are often forced to choose between the two solutions. Some would be tempted by the second option in the race, in order to prioritize overtaking and defending track position. However, a lack of support could result in a lack of grip, already low on this urban circuit, in addition to having traction difficulties, which would destroy the interest of driving at low support to favor top speed.

“There is no shortage of challenges for drivers and engineers, recognizes Jody Egginton, technical director of Racing Bulls. As the circuit is temporary, grip levels are generally low and although there is some development during the event, grip is still scarce, which is part of the challenges drivers face at this venue. The track layout pushes teams to remove downforce, aiming for high efficiency, meaning that slipstreaming can be part of an overtaking move, while the Turn 6 to Turn 9 section offers plenty of space for drivers to overtake, as does Turn 17, if the driver has enough confidence under braking.

Racing Bulls' goal is to get back into the points zone at this Las Vegas Grand Prix. The Italian team lost a position in the Constructors' Championship following the incredible double podium ofAlpine in São Paulo, and is now in 8th place. Following recent events, we hope to be in the thick of the midfield battle, and to fight in what will be an intense end to the season,” Jody Egginton confides. Racing Bulls are just five points off the A-mark in this fight for 6th place in the Constructors' table against Alpine et Haas before the last three meetings of the 2024 season.

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