Ferrari does not have great expectations in the trip that brings F1 back to Nevada: in Las Vegas the Cavallino team has never brought home great results since the two editions of the GP held in 1981 and 1982. The track designed in the Caesar Palaca car park has gave way to the layout designed by Carsten Tilke, the son of Hermann, Bernie Ecclestone’s trusted architect who designed almost all the F1 tracks of the modern era.
The circuit on the Strip which has three straights (the longest of 1,912 metres) should be congenial to the characteristics of the SF-23 with maximum speeds that will be records for a city circuit and there is talk of peaks of 350 km/h, but in the Sport Management it seems that there are more doubts than certainties regarding tire management. The latest simulations have not provided exciting data, a sign that learning about the correct exploitation of the roofs has not yet ensured the expected values, making Maranello’s expectations more cautious. For now, what has attracted attention is the red and white livery reminiscent of the 1980s.
Photo by: Ferrari
White and red Ferrari SF-23 livery for the Las Vegas GP
The track should favor unloaded aerodynamic configurations, but the fact that it is raced at night at 10.00 pm local time on Saturday (our 7.00 am on Sunday morning) raises a series of questions that should not be overlooked: it is true that Pirelli has chosen the softest range of compounds (C3, C4 and C5), but it is equally true that Arizona is a desert area with large temperature variations between day and night.
Forecasts indicate temperatures that will vary between 5 and 10 degrees, making it very difficult to bring the tires into the operating window. The commitment, therefore, will be to maintain the right temperature throughout the lap, preventing the tire from losing efficiency on the straights. It is likely, therefore, that we will see slightly more loaded wing profiles than those of Monza, perhaps drawing on the elements of Spa-Francorchamps.
Luckily in Las Vegas there is no weekend with the Sprint race so the teams will have the opportunity to find the right setup in three free practice sessions before “freezing” (it must be said) the settings for qualifying and the race .
Photo by: Ferrari
The rear wing of the SF-23 for Las Vegas will not be the cheapest among those available in Maranello
Considering these prohibitive conditions, the mechanical parts should not suffer: the engine hood of the SF-23 which was generously open in Mexico and a little less so in Brazil will be substantially closed with only two active gills, while the others will be sealed in search of maximum efficiency aerodynamics. The bodywork at the rear of the bellies will also be tapered to the maximum, while the brake intakes will have to be partitioned to avoid the “vitrification” of the carbon discs.
The Cavallino team would like to compete with Mercedes for second place in the Constructors’ World Championship: the reds pay 20 points to the black arrows with only two events left until the end of the Championship. It is easy to predict that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will play a defensive game without suffering risks: the power unit that went out during the grid formation lap on Leclerc’s SF-23 in Brazil was saved, so it will be used regularly in free practice .
#Ferrari #fears #cold #Las #Vegas #tire #management