Wolff: It may take more than one lap to warm up the tires

Before the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Toto Wolff, head of the Mercedes team, gave an interview to Bloomberg TV and spoke about the expectations associated with the new American phase of the world championship, which promises to be an extraordinary event.

Q: What feedback have you heard from drivers about the Las Vegas track after experiencing it in the simulator?
Toto Wolff: If you want, you can also discuss the issue of the safety structures that protect the cockpit from side impacts, but then you will certainly lose part of the audience (laughs). But we can discuss this separately!

Last week I met with Lewis Hamilton at the team base and he said Las Vegas has an impressively long straight, but it’s not yet clear what to expect. The race takes place between 10pm and midnight local time, and I hear the nights in the Nevada desert can get very cold.

So far we have experience with night racing in Singapore and the Middle East, but of course we have never had the opportunity to race in temperatures around 5 degrees, and neither do the tire workers at Pirelli.

Q: But do you know why they decided to hold the race at night, and are you going to maintain that it starts earlier next year?

Toto Wolff: Of course, Las Vegas is mainly associated with entertainment, with different types of shows, and Liberty Media has come up with its own plan, which is actually very good. There have been no races in Las Vegas in the recent history of Formula 1 and I think the night format of the weekend promises something very spectacular.

Since the track is completely new, the surface may be greasy, as is always the case with fresh asphalt, but at least we will see a bright spectacle. I don’t know yet if the cars will slip a lot, or if we will be able to achieve normal grip, but we will find out in a few days.

Question: Is it likely that the drivers will need a few laps in qualifying to properly warm up the tires?

Toto Wolff: It has happened in the past that the tires had to be warmed up gradually: if you attack too aggressively right away, the rubber starts to grain. The car starts to skid and it is impossible to bring the tires to normal temperatures. Therefore you must act carefully and it may take several laps to warm up the tires depending on how much you manage to preheat the brakes and rims. But here I am already delving into the technical details…

Question: Red Bull Racing currently dominates Formula 1, and Lewis recently said that this team’s lead is so big that no one can catch up for a few more years. How realistic is this prediction?

Toto Wolff: We are doing everything we can to catch up with the leaders. Once upon a time there was a five-year period of Ferrari dominance, then Red Bull Racing took the lead, then we won eight championships in a row, and now the Constructors’ Championship goes back to Red Bull for the second year and Max Verstappen won the title.

But of course we try to build the fastest car possible. In 2026 there will be a change in the regulations in Formula 1, but it is necessary to reach a turning point in the situation before then.

This season we will continue to compete with Ferrari for 2nd place in the Constructors’ Championship, but at the same time prepare for 2024. In reality, however, it is not so important whether we get 2nd or third place, because we want to get back into the lead and that is why we have long since switched to developing a new car.