Unexpected events aside, the first day of testing in Las Vegas confirms the expectations of the day before. The Nevada Citizen is a track that highlights the strengths of the Ferrari project, with long straights linked by sharp low-speed corners. Leclerc and Sainz end the night in the top two positions, also showing a race pace not far from Red Bull, which despite the positions in the rankings remains the point of reference. Aston Martin and Mercedes compete for third place, while McLaren is the big absentee of the day.
Low speed comparison
Friday’s ranking is affected by a cold, slippery track and subject to strong evolution. Thanks to the rubberization of the asphalt and the growing confidence of the riders, the times improve within a few minutes, which is why the positions at the end of the day also depend on the moment in which each person records their time. There is also no shortage of situations in which some drivers enjoy an important trail in a straight line, altering the perception of their real competitiveness. Overall, however, the conclusion is that in Las Vegas Ferrari and Red Bull start with a better start than the competition.
The fastest on the flying lap are Ferrari and Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque puts a lot of effort into it, inflicting half a second on Carlos Sainz, second in the other Ferrari. However, the 8 and 9 tenths recorded by Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen respectively cannot be ignored. The second longest track on the calendar widens the gaps compared to the average, but the delay of the Red Bull duo is concentrated above all in the central sector, the most driven of the track with turns 7, 8, 9 and 12, where the world champion accumulates 6 tenths. Despite 66% of the time spent at full throttle, in Las Vegas the challenge is not so much top speed, but agility at slow speeds.
The comparison begins in the braking sections, three of which are particularly violent with 4.5 g of deceleration. The drivers show a certain difficulty in finding the correct braking point, in avoiding lock-up and in reaching the apex point, especially when braking into Turn 7 where braking is combined. In fact, during the test session we witness several long ones when braking, a sign of a track with which the pilots have yet to measure themselves. Another area of comparison is traction when exiting corners, fighting against slipping of the rear to bring as much speed as possible into the next straight.
Be careful of graining
A good part of the Las Vegas match will be decided by managing tire temperatures. During the second session the asphalt remained at 15°C, just below the 18°C recorded at the beginning of the evening. However, the situation linked to the cold is less critical than expected, but sending and maintaining the tires in the correct operating window remains a determining factor. At Red Bull, for example, decisions are made during the session speed up battery charging times, precisely to avoid excessively cooling the tires before relaunching. It could prove to be a decisive aspect in qualifying, since in Las Vegas the tires demonstrate that they can guarantee sufficient performance even for a second timed lap.
The limiting factor in the race, however, is not thermal degradation but graining, the abrasion caused by excessive sliding at low temperatures. Several pilots complain over the radio graining especially on the rear axle, a sign of how managing traction when exiting corners is fundamental from a race pace perspective. Ferrari and Red Bull are helped in this by the aerodynamic configuration chosen for Las Vegas, with more powerful wing specifications compared to Monza, similar to those used in Belgium. However, the choice does not prevent the SF-23 and RB19 from being four of the six fastest cars on the straight, together with the two Williams.
The higher load level helps to bring the tires up to temperature quickly and limit slipping and graining, also offering riders greater grip when braking. The effects are appreciable on the race pace, where Ferrari and Red Bull stand out from the competition. Leclerc and Verstappen show particularly close times, although the respective simulations are affected by traffic on the track. The Monegasque and the Dutchman manage to travel in free air on the 5th and 7th laps, printing identical times, while on the 8th lap the world champion is two tenths faster. Overall, Friday’s data is insufficient to draw conclusions for Sunday, although for the moment Ferrari does not show a clear inferiority in terms of race pace.
The challenge of others
On the night in Las Vegas, an excellent Fernando Alonso shines, faster than the Red Bull duo at least on the flying lap. As well as in Brazil, Aston Martin races with a bottom mainly in the old configuration, preceding the Austin updates. Despite the performance, the AMR23s do not shine in terms of top speed, with Alonso and Stroll recording the 8th and 19th fastest readings in a straight line. The simulation of Alonso’s race pace is also far from the times of Ferrari and Red Bull, with a slightly higher pace even than Hamilton’s Mercedes.
On a track and in friendly environmental conditions, Williams is in good shape, but not enhanced by the time rankings. Alfa Romeo, on the other hand, stands out, with Valtteri Bottas’ fifth fastest time yet to be confirmed in the next few days. Nico Hulkenberg is seventh at the end of the day, with the German’s Haas in Las Vegas runs with the old configurationwhile Magnussen keeps the updates offering the team the opportunity for a comparative test.
The big absentee on Friday is McLaren. The MCL60s suffer in a straight line, authors of the 14th and last ever speed detection. However, Piastri and Norris also lag behind in the more driven second sector, with the 16th and 18th times of the day respectively. The problem in Woking is much broader than the lack of sprint speed, exacerbated by a slippery asphalt, far from those high-grip conditions in which the English car has proven to perform at its best.
A tip for safety
Another topic of the day is the cancellation of the first free practice session. Ferrari and Alpine are forced to replace the frames on Sainz and Ocon’s cars, damaged by the manhole covers raised by the enormous depression that is generated under the single-seaters. The most significant damage was caused by the Spaniard’s car, which was literally punctured in the passenger compartment the manhole that ends up damaging the seat. Many criticisms were leveled at the organisation, for an episode that could have had a much more tragic outcome. However, if the prevention of similar accidents is a priority, we wonder whether what happened does not also expose a flaw in the safety criteria of the single-seaters.
Among the many chassis approval tests, the technical regulations provide for a load test with a force equivalent to 3 tons applied under the passenger compartment from bottom to top. However, this is a static test while at the moment impact evidence is absent of the bottom against a foreign body such as a manhole. A very similar episode had already occurred in Baku in 2019 starring George Russell. In a calendar increasingly full of street circuits, the risk of its repetition in the future is probable. Zhou’s rollover at Silverstone in 2022 had also exposed a flaw in the safety criteria, in that case for the roll-hoop. The episode was then used as an opportunity to adapt the load tests, simulating conditions that had never been foreseen until then. The hope is that, in a similar way, the Las Vegas incident can stimulate a new conversation on the topic.
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