F1s coldest race ever? Las Vegas GP will challenge drivers, teams and tires -

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Formula One has invested over half a billion dollars in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, its newest, shiniest race it hopes will be a calendar highlight for decades.

Yet around the glitz and glamour of holding an event in one of the world’s most vibrant entertainment cities, there is still a race to run that holds the same value as any other: 25 points and a trophy for the winner.

The drivers will go through their usual preparations. They’ll complete laps in the simulator to learn the new circuit incorporating the Vegas landmarks. They’ll anticipate the car setup requirements for the street track. They’ll even adjust their sleep schedule for the 10 p.m. PT start time.

But the late lights-out time is also set to impact one of F1’s biggest variables, and thus the nature of the race: the performance of the tires.

As the 20 cars hit speeds over 200 mph down the Las Vegas Strip, the temperature should be between 41-50º F (5-10º C). The average low in Las Vegas through November is 46º F (8º C), so this is likely to be one of the coldest races in F1 history. The record low was 41º F (5º C) at the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix, held in Montreal in early October.

“It is probably the first time that we expect conditions this cold,” Mario Isola, the F1 chief for tire supplier Pirelli, told The Athletic. He acknowledged it would be a “big unknown” for drivers.

It could turn Las Vegas into one of the most challenging F1 races on the calendar.

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The impact of the cold on tires

F1 tires are designed to offer optimum grip at high temperatures. Teams will use tire blankets in the garages, which allow the tires to be warmed to 158º F (70º C). Once drivers go on track, they carefully manage the rubber and increase their temperature to offer optimal levels of grip when on a flying lap.

“These compounds are designed to generate the grip at high temperature, let’s say above 80 degrees,” Isola explained. “At a cold temperature, you have very low grip.”

Reduced grip makes it easier for drivers to make mistakes and requires extra caution when entering corners. Although there are not many hard braking zones on the 17-corner track layout, the nearby walls on the street track will punish minor errors.

The best way for drivers to combat low grip levels in the cold is to work the tires harder by pushing them through high-speed corners. The more stress they place through the tires, the hotter they become.

F1 tire blankets will get a workout in Las Vegas. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

But the Las Vegas layout has few high-speed corners and three long straights, the longest along the Strip. When the drivers are going in a straight line, the tires lose some of the temperature that has been built up.

A mid-race safety car — of which there is a higher chance on a street track due to the proximity of the walls — would also reduce tire temperatures because of the drop in the speed of the cars. Low grip levels also make the cars more susceptible to sliding, leading to tire graining, where the tire’s surface breaks up.

Las Vegas will also be the first F1 race in truly cold conditions since Pirelli revised the tire specifications in 2022 with 18-inch tires. While 2020 had two low-temperature events in Turkey and Germany, those ran on 13-inch tires with thicker sidewalls. “If we talk about 18-inch tires, it’s probably the first time we’ve had this kind of temperature,” said Isola.

Williams driver Alex Albon said the cold conditions would make it “interesting,” and drivers may need more time to get their tires up to temperature before pushing for quick laps. “I wonder if we’re doing three or four prep laps for qualifying,” he said. Most tracks need only a single warm-up lap. “It will be a tough one.”

“A tire will cool down on those straights,” added Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. “Getting into a corner on a very low downforce setting, like we’re expecting in Vegas, on a cold tire, on a new surface…” He tailed off for effect. The picture he described is a challenging one.

“There could be many variables for tires and temperatures in general to be a big talking point that weekend.”

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Best laid plans

The asphalt underneath the cars also impacts the levels of grip. All street tracks have reduced traction due to limited usage – road vehicles at slow speeds lay down less rubber than racing cars at high speeds. That’s why Pirelli has chosen its three softest, grippiest compounds for the race weekend.

Large portions of the streets used for the Las Vegas track have also been repaved ahead of the race, meaning the track will be very green. Track evolution — where lap times get quicker as more rubber is laid down — will be very high in Las Vegas.

One step Pirelli takes at tracks to increase grip levels is using high-pressure jets to water-blast the surface, making it more abrasive. It is doing the same in Las Vegas.

Pirelli has also asked teams to provide data from their simulations further in advance than usual to help build a better picture of how the tires may perform in the cold.

“Usually, they provide simulations three weeks before the race, and then we analyze the data, and we give them the (tire pressure) prescriptions two weeks before the race,” Isola explained. “In this case, we have asked them to give us simulations or anything they have available more in advance, four or five [weeks before], in order to have an idea.”

F1 hopes the repaved Las Vegas streets offset the cold Vegas temperatures. (Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)

Such cold temperatures are not totally unknown to the F1 drivers. Pre-season testing used to take 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 low in early February.

“When you go out in those kinds of track temperatures, it’s tricky,” said Nico Hülkenberg of Haas. “It’s going to be different; it’s going to be challenging in a different way. Instead of keeping the tires cool, you have to do something to switch it on.”

Unlike in those tests, teams at Las Vegas won’t have the freedom to limit their running due to the struggles of running in the cold. There is no choice but to make the best of the conditions and plan for every eventuality.

“That combination of the track surface, which we know very little about at the moment, and how that will interact with the tires, will dictate so much of how the weekend pans out,” said Dave Robson, Williams’ head of vehicle engineering.

“We can’t predict exactly how the car will behave in Vegas. We will go there with plenty of options, so whatever happens, we’re able to cover that off as quickly as possible.”

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Why Vegas isn’t worried about the cold

It’s not just the tires that need extra attention in the cold.

It’s rare for invites to VIP F1 events to recommend wearing a big coat or for drivers to have to pay extra attention to simple things like how they are going to keep their hands warm.

“You need your hands to work well when you’re driving, so being on top of all of that is something we’re already looking into,” explained McLaren’s Lando Norris. “It’s just simple things sometimes, with hand warmers and gloves and whatever.”

Hülkenberg recalled his fingers once got so cold in a winter test that he “couldn’t open my hands” from around the steering wheel after a run: “After a few laps, your fingers get so cold, they’re stuck in that position, and they lose feeling.”

The organizers of the Las Vegas race are not concerned by the impact of the cold. The 10 p.m. PT start time was a compromise — not without its irony — and the temperature impact was another side-effect of the final decision.

“I think cold is relative!” Renee Wilm, the CEO of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, told The Athletic. “In America, we often sit in grandstands to watch football games at 10 degrees (F), so it’ll be significantly warmer than an American football game in the wintertime.

“We did certainly have conversations with Pirelli, with the teams, to ensure the quality of racing will be there. It’ll be a first-year event, so there will obviously be the excitement and questions over what tires will they use and how often will they change, or how they’ll warm them up to be ready to race.

“I think that will just increase some of the excitement and the competition on our track.”

For the grandstand fans, Wilm suggested it was “an opportunity to buy some F1 merchandise, maybe even an LVGP scarf or beanie.”

“It does not get that cold in November in Las Vegas,” she added. “We would describe that as nippy.”

Through all of the off-track excitement and hubbub over one of the most-hyped races in F1’s 73-year history, the cold of the Las Vegas night should be one of the biggest challenges — and not one any of the drivers or teams will fully understand until they get on-track.

“You can be as prepared as you want,” Sainz said. “But until you see what happens in the car, you cannot react.”

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(Lead image design: Eamonn Dalton/The Athletic)

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