City track, poor grip, long straights, aggressive braking, many slow corners and an unloaded set-up. As was suspected on the eve, Las Vegas turned out to be a track capable of enhancing the strengths of the SF-23 and, more specifically, of Charles Leclerc on the flying lap, who with the circuits where it is necessary to exploit the he last centimeter before the barriers has always had a special relationship.
The cold temperatures of the environment and the asphalt were one of the main topics of the weekend. If on the one hand over the long distance there was a lot of focus on the graining issue, on the other hand the qualifications showed how complicated it was to find that ideal window in exploiting the tyres, finding from the tires that extra grip that was missing in the tracked. There are teams that have opted for the single hard lap, including Ferrari, while others have chosen to complete an additional step before embarking on the attempt to warm up the tyres, such as Mercedes.
Different approaches, but overall, given the long straights, few fast high-energy corners and the low temperatures, getting the tires to work as best as possible was one of the keys to this qualifying. Each car is different, has its own characteristics and load level with which it expresses itself best. “I think the most difficult thing was putting the tires in the right window. As soon as it was a little outside [dalla finestra], in the first sector we were very far away. This was the most difficult aspect of qualifying,” said Leclerc.
Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23
As has already been observed in other events of the season, on those tracks where the engineers manage to find a good operating window, the SF-23 lights up. The low-load characteristics of this track, as well as the fact that the single-seater tends to behave well in low-speed corners, as in a mix between Monza and Singapore, have then allowed us to put together all the elements that have led to a first all red line.
On the eve of the day, the Red team’s drivers themselves had shown a certain confidence, underlining, however, that on the other side, there would have been particular types of corners that could have put the Maranello car in crisis, such as the 1-2-3 sequence and the braking of 6. This prediction actually materialized, albeit only in part, because qualifying demonstrated how the topic of tire preparation was more important than certain characteristics of the single-seater in the first sector.
In fact, despite suffering a certain understeer in the attempt to close turn one, especially compared to a Verstappen who sacrificed mileage to cut on the exit, in reality the SF-23 behaved well. Confirming this element is also Kevin Magnussen’s time with the Haas, another car that, in cold conditions, manages to warm up the tires very well, but pays the price for it in the race.
Photo by: Gianluca D’Alessandro
Telemetry comparison Las Vegas GP qualifying: Leclerc – Verstappen
In reality, in the last attempt of the day Leclerc made a small mistake right in turn one, arriving slightly wide, so much so that his reference in the first sector is superior not only to that of Sainz, but also to what he had recorded himself. Monegasque at the start of Q3. All this allowed the Spanish driver to virtually take the lead at the first photocell, while the three-time world champion from Red Bull achieved a time not far from what Leclerc had set. The one who has suffered most evidently is Mercedes: beyond the specific difficulties in turning on the tires, the very low load set-up favored the sliding of the rear, both when exiting turn one and when going through turn three: it is It is precisely this excessive slipping which, in their case, led to marked graining over long distances.
Another issue to be addressed is that of the braking force of the Red, which can be divided into two chapters: on the one hand that with the car straight, like the braking of the 4th, 12th or 14th, on the other that in which it is also expected a steering phase, where the front is more in crisis, like 7. In those sections in which the Monegasque manages to brake with the car straight, an element that puts a lot of energy into the tires given the high speeds on the previous straights, the Ferrarista confirms to be very effective, especially against Mercedes and Red Bull, while the comparison with Sainz is much more balanced. On the contrary, precisely in those areas where a precise front end is needed, the qualities of the RB19 emerge: not only is Verstappen able to brake very late at 7, but he is also able to maintain a more internal line on entry, thus reducing the distance travelled.
Once you have passed the treacherous area in which the “Sphere” acts as a frame in the background, at that point only two important braking points and three long straights remain. The topic of top speeds is another one of those topics that is interesting to focus on. On the first day, Ferrari had shown a consistent advantage in terms of top speed, so much so that in the straight area of the Strip alone, Red Bull had lost over four tenths, with a gap that, before the opening of the DRS, had approached 7 km/h.
The choice of the Milton Keynes team to mount a more powerful wing was also a factor: precisely for this reason, when the RB19 could open the DRS, the delta between the two teams began to narrow. In fact, observing the data obtained from the other straights, it was noted that in those where it was possible to use the mobile wing, i.e. the section exiting turn three, Red Bull was close to the Red, while on the final one, where it was not possible to open the flap, the SF-23 would return to earning significantly.
On this level, the references changed on Saturday, in particular due to Red Bull’s choice to switch to a more flat rear wing: the mainplane remained the same, while what changed was the DRS flap, cut to reduce the resistance (visible in the previous comparison). A choice partly due to the awareness that it would have been difficult to beat Leclerc on the flying lap, so greater top speed was needed for the race: although it is true that better tire management can make the difference, on the other hand the track is still quite dirty and with little rubber outside the ideal trajectory, which makes it more complex to make a difference by following different lines in the guided section.
On the one hand this brought the RB19 even closer with closed wing, while on the other it reduced the delta between the two teams with the flap open. Overall, it can be observed that in the first part of the strip the gap of the Milton Keynes team has significantly decreased compared to yesterday, bringing their rivals closer, albeit without being able to completely cancel it, as is highlighted in the final part of the lap on the other straight line where it is not possible to use DRS.
Photo by: Gianluca D’Alessandro
Telemetry comparison Las Vegas GP qualifying: Leclerc – Russell
On a circuit that features such a low-load set-up, the aerodynamic efficiency qualities of the RB19 did not emerge so clearly, as they generally become apparent when you run at higher load values, as on other tracks. From this point of view, the extreme choice is that of Mercedes, which in Las Vegas made the straights its strong point due to an extremely low set-up, one of the most aggressive on the grid to compensate for its problems in terms of of resistance. If you look at the references on the extension of the Strip, you can see how Russell actually gains about a tenth compared to Leclerc, but suffers in the rest of the lap, especially in the slow sections where greater mechanical grip is sought.
In view of the race, the teams fear not so much pure wear, because in reality all the compounds have shown limited degradation, but rather graining. With such long straights, very violent braking and many slow corners that put stress on the rear, the risk is that this phenomenon will be triggered, which further removes grip on a track that already offers little grip. In free practice this aspect appeared on all the cars, especially on the soft which offers less flexibility. Many teams worked during the night to be able to take a step forward on this aspect, and the demonstration that several teams carried out a long run during FP3 is proof that they were still trying to evaluate the latest changes.
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