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Formula 1 has invested more than half a billion dollars in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the latest and brightest race it hopes will be a highlight of the calendar for decades.

However, around the glamor and glamor of holding an event in one of the world’s most vibrant theme parks, there is still a running race that carries the same value as any other: 25 points and a trophy for the winner.

Drivers will make their usual preparations. They will complete laps in the simulator to learn about the new circuit that includes Vegas attractions. They will anticipate the requirements for preparing the vehicle for the street track. They will also adjust their sleep schedule to start at 10 PM PT.

But the later lights-out time is also expected to impact one of Formula 1’s biggest variables, and therefore the nature of the race: tire performance.

When the 20 cars are reaching over 200 mph down the Las Vegas Strip, the temperature should be between 41-50°F (5-10°C). The average low temperature in Las Vegas during November is 46 °F (8 °C), 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.

“This is probably the first time we have expected such cold conditions,” said Mario Isola, president of Formula 1 tire supplier Pirelli. The athlete. He admitted it would be “very unknown” for drivers.

It could turn Las Vegas into one of the most challenging Formula 1 races on the calendar.

The effect of cold on tires

F1 tires are designed to provide optimal stability in high temperatures. Teams will use tire blankets in garages, which allow tires to warm to 158 degrees Fahrenheit (70 degrees Celsius). Once drivers are on track, they carefully manage the rubber and increase its temperature to provide optimal levels of grip during the flying lap.

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

Reduced grip makes it easier for drivers to make mistakes and requires more caution when entering turns. Although there aren’t many hard braking zones on the 17-corner track layout, the nearby walls on the street course will punish minor mistakes.

The best way for drivers to overcome low grip levels in the cold is to run the tires harder by pushing them through high-speed corners. The more pressure you put on your tires, the hotter they get.

But the Las Vegas layout contains a few high-speed corners and three long straights, the longest along the strip. When drivers travel in a straight line, their tires lose some of the temperature they have built up.

A safety car mid-race – which there is more opportunity for on a street course due to its proximity to the walls – would also reduce tire temperatures due to the cars’ lower speed. Low levels of grip also make cars more susceptible to skidding, leading to tire grain, where the tread of the tire breaks.

Las Vegas will also be the first Formula 1 race in really cold conditions since Pirelli revised tire specifications in 2022 with 18-inch tyres. While 2020 saw two low-temperature events in Turkey and Germany, they were run on 13-inch tires with thicker sidewalls. “If we talk about 18-inch tires, this is probably the first time we have experienced this kind of temperature,” Isola said.

Williams driver Alex Albon said the cold conditions would make it “interesting”, and drivers may need more time to warm up their tires before rushing in for fast laps. “I wonder if we’ll do three or four preparatory laps for qualifying,” he said. Most tracks only need one warm-up lap. “It’s going to be tough.”

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz added: “The tire will cool down on those straights.” “Entering the corner at very low downforce, as we expect in Vegas, on a cold tire, on a new surface…” He backed off for effect. The picture he described is a difficult one.

“There could be too many variables regarding tires and overall temperatures to be a big talking point this weekend.”

Best laid plans

The asphalt underneath cars also affects grip levels. All street tracks have low traction due to limited use – slow speed road vehicles put on less rubber than high speed race cars. That’s why Pirelli has chosen its three softest, most consistent formulations for race weekends.

Large portions of the streets used for the Las Vegas track have also been repaved before the race, meaning the track will be very green. Track development – where lap times get faster as more rubber is put on – will be very high in Las Vegas.

One step Pirelli takes on tracks to increase grip levels is to use high-pressure jets to blast the surface with water, making it more abrasive. It does the same thing in Las Vegas.

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

“They usually submit the simulations three weeks before the race, and then we analyze the data and give them the prescriptions (tire pressure) two weeks before the race,” Isola explained. “In this case, we asked them to give us simulations or whatever they had more in advance, four or five [weeks before]”In order to get an idea.”

Such cold temperatures are not exactly unknown to Formula 1 drivers. Pre-season testing has been taking place in cold conditions in Barcelona, ​​Spain – it even snowed one day in 2018 – and teams are still completing their first runs with their cars in Europe when temperatures are very low in Early February.

“When you go out in these temperatures on the track, it’s difficult,” said Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg. “It will be different; It would be difficult in a different way. Instead of keeping your tires cold, you have to do something to get them running.

Unlike those tests, teams in Las Vegas will not have the freedom to limit running due to the struggles of running in the cold. There is no choice but to make the most of the circumstances and plan for all eventualities.

“This combination of the track surface, which we know very little about at the moment, and how it interacts with the tyres, will determine a lot about how the weekend goes,” said Dave Robson, Williams’ head of vehicle engineering.

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

Why isn’t Vegas worried about the cold?

It’s not just tires that need extra care in cold weather.

It’s rare for invitations to VIP F1 events to recommend wearing a big 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 work well when you’re driving, so being on top of all that is something we’re really looking forward to,” McLaren driver Lando Norris explained. “It’s just simple things sometimes, with hand warmers and gloves and whatever else.”

Hulkenberg recalls that his fingers became so cold in winter testing that he “couldn’t open my hands” from around the steering wheel after a run: “After a few laps, your fingers get so cold, you get stuck in that position.” “And they lose feeling.”

Las Vegas race organizers are not concerned about the impact of the cold. A start time of 10pm PT was a compromise – not without irony – and the temperature impact was another side effect of the final decision.

“I think cold is relative!” Rene Willem, CEO of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, said: The athlete. “In America, we often sit in the stands watching football games at 10 degrees F, so it will be noticeably warmer than an American football game in the winter.

“We have certainly had conversations with Pirelli, with the teams, to make sure that the race quality will be there. This will be a first-year event, so there will definitely be excitement and questions about which tires they will use and how often they will change them, or how they will be heated up to be ready for the race.

“I think this will add some excitement and competition to our track.”

For fans of the runway, Willem suggested it was “an opportunity to buy some Formula 1 merchandise, and maybe even a scarf or beanie from LVGP.”

“It’s not that cold in November in Las Vegas,” she added. “We’d describe that as intense.”

Through all the excitement and off-track hype around one of the most exciting races in Formula 1’s 73-year history, the cold of a Las Vegas night has to be one of the biggest challenges – and neither driver nor team will be able to fully understand that until they get on track.

“You can be as prepared as you want,” Sainz said. “But until you see what’s happening in the car, you can’t react.”

(Main image design: Eamonn Dalton/The Athletic)