Las Vegas Grand Prix: Preview – Ferrari

One of the crucial intently contested seasons because the System 1 hybrid period started in 2014, is coming to a detailed.

The ultimate triple-header of a championship, which to date has seen seven totally different winners from 4 totally different groups, begins with the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Simply 49 factors cowl the highest 4 groups within the Constructors’ standings, with the Maranello crew second, 36 factors behind McLaren, with 147 nonetheless up for grabs.

The Las Vegas venue made its debut final yr, 42 years on from System 1’s earlier look in Nevada on the considerably lacklustre monitor specified by the Caesars Palace automotive park. The Las Vegas Strip monitor couldn’t be extra totally different, being very quick and spectacular. In truth, pace is its standout attribute, with common speeds of round 240 km/h, coupled with some extra technical sections. The lap begins with a brief acceleration to show 1, a slender left hand hairpin which might supply a significant overtaking alternative, adopted by a slender and twisty part. After that the automobiles fly down one of many two very lengthy straights earlier than braking onerous for flip 5, adopted by the gradual chicane at flip 7, which results in one other left handed hairpin, after which it is all about bravery and pace. The automobiles cost virtually flat out via the flip 10 kink after which comes a decent left hand flip 12, which leads onto the 1.9 kilometre run down the “The Strip.” Pedal to the metallic, the automobiles hit speeds of over 350 km/h earlier than stamping on the brakes to deal with the esses via turns 14, 15 and 16 after which the ultimate barely curved run to the end line. It takes simply over a minute and a half to finish the 6.201 kilometres.

Presently of yr, the Mojave desert is a chilly place to be, particularly at night time. With a median ambient temperature of 15°C, situations might be similar to these of winter testing and subsequently, tyres and brakes may battle to achieve the precise working temperatures, which could produce some surprising eventualities in qualifying and the race. The chilly monitor floor topics the tyres to appreciable stress and that has a major affect on race technique. In 2023, most groups went for a one-stop, beginning on the Medium compound tyres and switching to the Hards at across the midway mark. With comparable situations this yr, one can count on extra of the identical. The onerous braking factors and the various overtaking alternatives dotted across the monitor imply that the surprising ought to all the time be anticipated and with it, an look from the Security Automotive. Drivers and strategists should be on their mettle to decide on the perfect second for pit stops.

Fred Vasseur – Group Principal: It is time for the ultimate triple-header showdown to resolve the result of this very busy season. The final three Grands Prix all contain racing at night time in desert places: we begin in Las Vegas, at a really quick road circuit with few corners, a number of of them being 90 diploma turns. Nonetheless, there are nonetheless loads of fascinating variables, beginning with the temperature, that drops significantly at night time. It signifies that getting the tyres into the precise working window for qualifying and the race might be significantly necessary. It is solely the second time we race at this venue and we will count on an excellent present, even higher than final season’s, which already shone the highlight brightly on System 1. For our half, we intend to be combating on the entrance, simply as we have been final yr: we all know we’ve got the potential to come back away with a robust end result so long as we guarantee we’re on prime of our recreation all the way down to the smallest element. We’ve got ready nicely again on the manufacturing facility and Charles, Carlos and the entire crew have been capable of get pleasure from a really quick break, able to go once more, extra decided than ever. We’re assured and we all know what we’ve got to do to maintain the Constructors’ title battle alive.

Ferrari in the US

GP contested: 65

Debut: 1952 Indianapolis 500 Miles (A. Ascari ret.)

Wins: 14 (21.54%)

Pole positions: 18 (27.69%)

Quickest laps: 16 (24.61%)

Podiums: 46 (23.59%)

Three Inquiries to Erik Van der Leer, Senior Engineer, Driving Simulator.

Are you able to inform us in regards to the challenges that the Las Vegas monitor presents, each from a structure perspective (lengthy straights, low downforce, brakes) and when it comes to its location?
Erik Van der Leer: Las Vegas is a type of tracks that will appear simple simply trying on the structure whereas truly it is rather tough for quite a lot of causes. There are solely 5 nook sequences however all of them are low pace with large braking zones, and on prime of that among the corners are blind. The large braking zones must be timed to perfection even when going at speeds of over 340km/h which requires a automotive with excessive downforce to offer the boldness to gradual the automotive down, after which undergo and out of those corners as quick as potential. Then again, as quickly as you exit of those corners there are lengthy straights which name for low drag and subsequently a low downforce setup. Then, as soon as once more on the finish of those straights there are these large braking zones however at this level the brakes and tyres have cooled down after not utilizing them for the whole straight – including one other degree of problem for the drivers to handle. All of this in a metropolis circuit the place the partitions are very shut by leaving no margin for errors. Las Vegas is in a desert and the occasion takes place at night time. This implies temperatures drop in a short time, typically even beneath 10 levels Celsius, which makes it tough to get the tyres in the precise window for a single push lap, and equally tough to maintain them within the window for lengthy runs. That is made much more tough given the lengthy straights which permit the tyres to chill down quickly, creating large challenges for the drivers and groups, not seen at another circuit.

Final yr, you had little or no knowledge to run within the simulator, but it was nonetheless the one device accessible to assist the drivers and the crew put together for this new circuit. Now you’ve precise monitor knowledge, what function does this device play in your strategy to this race?
EvdL: If we evaluate what we knew final yr to what we all know this yr the image actually has modified fully. The place final yr the monitor mannequin used on the simulator was based mostly on drawings, this yr we’ve got a full illustration of the monitor, the asphalt its environment. Moreover, contemplating we even have all the information from final yr’s occasion we’ve got a way more correct prediction of what we count on to occur on the Las Vegas GP this yr. This implies the engineers and growth drivers but in addition Carlos and Charles themselves have a a lot better alternative to arrange the weekend, to get aware of the monitor and the setup of the automotive. As with each race, Charles and Carlos have been within the simulator beforehand, engaged on optimising their driving in addition to automotive set-up to ensure we’ve got the very best start line, in addition to being ready in case situations are totally different from what we count on. That is exactly when the simulator is an especially highly effective device and the preparation classes are extraordinarily helpful to permit the drivers to optimise their driving fashion for a selected monitor.

On a monitor with so many tight corners, what work do you do with the third driver within the simulator in the course of the day with the 2 free apply classes?
EvdL: The strategy is not any totally different to that at another occasion, even when the monitor is one among a form. The event driver within the simulator can have been briefed already in the course of the preparation for the weekend on how necessary it’s to optimise every nook, on condition that there are so few nook sequences the place drivers could make a distinction. It’s crucial for the drivers on the monitor to have a automotive which permits them to have the boldness to push the automotive to the restrict with out going over it, because the corners are tight, and blind. So the simulator driver will spend loads of his give attention to the stability and driving fashion via these corners, typically even going over the restrict and hitting the partitions – fortuitously on the simulator the injury isn’t actual (besides maybe for the kickback the simulator driver will really feel from the chassis to let him know he has hit one thing!). Throughout a typical session the place we help the trackside crew we use laps executed in the course of the Free Observe classes and reproduce the very same situations, automotive set-up and driving on the simulator. This permits us to establish the strengths and weaknesses of the automotive and we will attempt to enhance these so as to give suggestions to the trackside crew who could then modify the automotive accordingly. We additionally use these classes to discover what to anticipate in case the climate adjustments in the course of the weekend – for instance temperatures, wind course and depth could also be totally different day-to-day or they will even change throughout a single session. By reproducing these climate situations within the simulator we will inform the drivers what to anticipate to permit them to extract the utmost out of the automotive even earlier than they exit on monitor.

Details & Figures

150. The approximate variety of exhibits that happen in Las Vegas day-after-day. They embrace performances from artists of the calibre of Girl Gaga, Bruno Mars and Adele, who all have houses within the metropolis. Prior to now, artists resembling Celine Dion, Tom Jones and Elton Jones have performed residencies in Las Vegas, performing as much as 50 concert events a yr within the Nevada metropolis.

168. The peak in metres of the Excessive Curler wheel above the Strip, which opened on 31 March 2014. On the time, it was the tallest wheel on the earth, however at this time that honour goes to the 250 metre excessive Ain Dubai, constructed within the eponymous emirate in 2021.

200. The variety of neon indicators within the Neon Boneyard, often known as the Museum of Neon, one of many strangest points of interest in Las Vegas. It was established in 1996, simply north of the Strip and covers 10,000 sq. metres. The Neon Boneyard is house to among the most well-known neon indicators from the town which inform the story of the style from the mid-Twentieth century to the current day. Most of the indicators come from previous casinos, accommodations and companies which have closed their doorways or modified identify. The museum not solely collects the indicators, but in addition restores them to their former glory.

4 500. The share enhance within the inhabitants of Las Vegas over the previous sixty years or so. The town was based in 1905 and by 1960, it had a inhabitants of simply 50,000, whereas at this time it has grown to 2.3 million.

27 200. The kilos of shellfish eaten day-after-day in Las Vegas. It’s the metropolis’s favorite meals by a great distance and the amount is larger than that consumed in the entire of the remainder of the US.