Published date: 13 November 2023, 02:11h.
Last update date: November 13, 2023, 02:42.
Planners of the first F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix did not take into account how cold Las Vegas gets at night at this time of year, according to Ross Brawn. And Brawn knows this because he was one of those planners.
Brawn, who was F1’s chief executive from 2017 to 2022, told the website: “What we didn’t take into account initially but the tire company took care of was that it was very, very cold at night.” talkSPORT. “So it can be quite cold and, of course, it can be difficult to start vehicles in those temperatures.”
Automobile news and opinion site jalopnik.com He even claimed last month that he had spoken to “a handful of people” affiliated with the series who were concerned about the extreme heat in Las Vegas.
Cold Hard Facts
The opening ceremony of the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, which will take place on Saturday, November 18, is planned to be held at 22:00 PST. This was partly to appeal to the larger European audience watching live, and partly to capitalize on the evening excitement of Las Vegas.
But on fall nights, Las Vegas temperatures have been known to drop below freezing. Although the current weather forecast for race time calls for 52 degrees Fahrenheit, it could be problematic if the mercury drops a few degrees below that (which could easily be caused by an unexpected rain before the race, for example).
Although the Vegas circuit has 14 corners, most consist of three main straights whose ability to properly warm up the tires is unknown. And cold tires grip the road less than warm tires.
“Formula 1 cars are not designed to maintain optimum race pace in cool weather.” Jalopnik.com. “It will take longer for the tyres, brakes and even power units to reach their ideal operating range on a cool track, meaning we will likely see a fair amount of skidding, skidding and locking.
“This is all because no one has noticed how the desert climate works in late autumn.”
However, Brawn refrained from expressing such concern. Noting that the series became more aware of the weather some time after he left, he said: Speaking Sport: “Tire companies have done some work to make sure tires can handle this.”
“We’re definitely facing some new challenges we’ve never faced before,” Brawn said, “but I think it’s going to be amazing.”