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Formula One has invested more than half a billion dollars in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, its newest and brightest race that it hopes will be a calendar highlight for decades.
But beyond the glitz and glamor of an event in one of the world’s most vibrant entertainment cities, there is still a race to be run that has the same value as any other: 25 points and a trophy for the winner.
The drivers go through their usual preparations. You complete laps in the simulator to get to know the new race track with the landmarks of Las Vegas. You will anticipate the vehicle setup requirements for the road course. They even adjust their sleep schedule to the 10:00 PM PT start time.
But the late start time will also impact one of Formula 1’s biggest variables and therefore the nature of the race: the performance of the tires.
Since the 20 cars on the Las Vegas Strip reach speeds of over 200 miles per hour, the temperature should be between 41 and 50°F (5 to 10°C). The average low temperature in Las Vegas in November is 8°C (46°F), so this will likely be one of the coldest races in Formula 1 history. The record low was 41 °F (5 °C) at the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix, held in Montreal in early October.
“It’s probably the first time we’re expecting such cold conditions,” Mario Isola, the F1 boss of tire supplier Pirelli, told The Athletic. He acknowledged it would be a “big unknown” for motorists.
It could make Las Vegas one of the most challenging F1 races on the calendar.
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The effects of cold on tires
F1 tires are designed to provide optimal grip at high temperatures. Teams will use tire blankets in the garages, which can heat the tires to 70°C (158°F). Once drivers hit the track, they handle the rubber carefully, increasing the temperature to ensure optimal grip on a fast lap.
“These compounds are designed to produce grip at high temperatures, say over 80 degrees,” explains Isola. “In cold temperatures you have very little grip.”
Reduced grip makes it easier for the driver to make mistakes and requires extra caution when entering corners. Although there aren’t many hard braking zones on the 17-turn route, the nearby walls on the road course punish minor mistakes.
The best way for drivers to combat a lack of grip in cold conditions is to put more stress on the tires by pushing them through high-speed corners. The more pressure you put on the tires, the hotter they get.
F1 tire covers are trained in Las Vegas. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
However, Las Vegas has few high-speed corners and three long straights, the longest on the Strip. When drivers drive straight, the tires lose some of the temperature they have built up.
A safety car mid-race – which is more likely on a road course due to the proximity of the walls – would also reduce tire temperatures as the cars’ speed drops. Low grip levels also make cars more prone to slipping, which leads to tire graining, where the tire surface breaks down.
Las Vegas will also be the first F1 race in really cold conditions since Pirelli revised tire specifications with 18-inch tires in 2022. Although there were two low-temperature events in Turkey and Germany in 2020, these were held on 13-inch tires with thicker sidewalls. “If we’re talking about 18-inch tires, it’s probably the first time we’ve had temperatures like that,” Isola said.
Williams driver Alex Albon said the cold conditions would make it “interesting” and drivers could need more time to get their tires up to temperature before pushing for fast laps. “I wonder if we do three or four laps of preparation for qualifying,” he said. Most tracks only require a single warm-up lap. “It will be a difficult question.”
“A tire cools down on these straights,” added Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. “Going into a corner with a very low downforce setting, like we expect in Vegas, with a cold tire, on a new surface…” He effectively trailed off. The picture he describes is a challenge.
“There could be a lot of variables for tires and temperatures in general that will be a big topic of conversation this weekend.”
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Best laid plans
The asphalt under the cars also influences grip. All road courses have reduced traction due to limited use – road cars use less rubber at slow speeds than racing cars at high speeds. That’s why Pirelli has selected its three softest and grippiest compounds for the race weekend.
Large portions of the roads used for the Las Vegas course were also repaved prior to the race, meaning the course will be very green. Track development – where lap times get faster as more rubber is applied – will be very high in Las Vegas.
One step Pirelli takes on racetracks to improve grip is to blast the surface with high-pressure jets, making it more abrasive. The same thing is happening in Las Vegas.
Pirelli has also asked teams to provide data from their simulations further in advance than usual to get a better picture of how the tires might behave in cold conditions.
“Typically they provide simulations three weeks before the race, then we analyze the data and give them the (tire pressure) regulations two weeks before the race,” Isola explained. “In this case, we asked them to give us simulations or whatever they had available to them in advance, four or five [weeks before]to have an idea.”
Formula 1 hopes that the newly paved roads in Las Vegas will make up for the cold temperatures in Las Vegas. (Matthew Ashton-AMA/Getty Images)
Such cold temperatures are not entirely unknown to F1 drivers. Previously, pre-season testing took place in cold conditions in Barcelona, Spain – it even snowed one day in 2018 – and teams still complete their first shakedowns with their cars in Europe when temperatures are very high in early February are low.
“When you drive out at track temperatures like this, it’s difficult,” said Nico Hülkenberg from Haas. “It will be different; It will be challenging in a different way. Instead of keeping the tires cool, you have to do something to turn them on.”
Unlike those tests, teams in Las Vegas do not have the freedom to limit their runs due to the difficulty of running in the cold. There is nothing left but to make the best of the conditions and plan for all eventualities.
“This combination of the track surface, which we currently know very little about, and how it interacts with the tires will have a significant impact on the course of the weekend,” said Dave Robson, head of vehicle engineering at Williams.
“We can’t predict exactly how the car will behave in Vegas. We’re going to go there with a lot of options so that whatever happens, we can cover it as quickly as possible.”
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Why Vegas isn’t worried about the cold
It’s not just the tires that require special attention in cold weather.
It’s rare for invites to VIP F1 events to recommend wearing a large coat, or for drivers to have to pay extra attention to simple things like how to keep their hands warm.
“You need your hands to function well when driving, so keeping track of that is something we’re already considering,” explained McLaren’s Lando Norris. “Sometimes it’s just simple things, with hand warmers and gloves and whatever.”
Hülkenberg remembered that his fingers once became so cold during a winter test that after a run he “could no longer remove my hands from the steering wheel”: “After a few laps, the fingers get so cold that they get stuck in this position .”, and they lose feeling.”
Las Vegas race organizers aren’t worried about the effects of the cold. The 10pm PT start time was a compromise – not without irony – and the impact on temperature was another side effect of the final decision.
“I think cold is relative!” Las Vegas Grand Prix CEO Renee Wilm told The Athletic. “In America we often sit in stands to watch football games in 10 degree (F) temperatures, so in the winter it is significantly warmer than an American football game.
“We have definitely had discussions with Pirelli and the teams to make sure the quality of racing is there. Of course, being a first-time event, there will be a lot of excitement and questions about what tires they will use and how often they will change them or how they will warm them up to be ready for the race.
“I think this will only increase the excitement and competition on our track.”
For the grandstand fans, Wilm said it was “an opportunity to buy some F1 merchandise, maybe even an LVGP scarf or hat.”
“It doesn’t get that cold in Las Vegas in November,” she added. “We would call it fast.”
For all the excitement and hustle and bustle off the track at one of the most hyped races in Formula 1’s 73-year history, the cold of the night in Las Vegas is likely to be one of the biggest challenges – and neither the drivers nor the teams will be affected be fully understand until they get on the right path.
“You can be as prepared as you want,” said Sainz. “But unless you see what’s happening in the car, you can’t react.”
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(Main image design: Eamonn Dalton/The Athletic)