Las Vegas Grand Prix: track and statistics

Las Vegas is a city in the middle of the desert, but if French Magny-Cours was called ‘a place in the middle of nowhere’, then Vegas is ‘everything in the middle of nowhere’. The city of sins, passions and easy money. One of the strangest and most attractive places in the world if you have a lot of money. The most popular casinos and hotels are located in the historic center, around which the route is built. This is the new Formula 1 advertising platform.

The appearance of the Las Vegas stage on the calendar is seen as a major achievement for Liberty Media, and that’s partly true. But there was already a stage in Vegas – a temporary circuit was built in the gigantic parking lot of the Caesars Palace hotel, where the final stages of the 1981 and 1982 seasons took place.

And negotiations for the return of Formula 1 to Vegas were also first started by Bernie Ecclestone, when the contract with Indianapolis expired, and he wanted to keep the American podium. There was also talk at the time about an urban highway around major casinos, but that was almost twenty years ago and the idea didn’t work. And the modern circuit actually owes its birth to Liberty Media.

The new owners of Formula 1 are taking the world championship away from Europe; the calendar already includes three stages in the US: in Austin, Miami and Vegas. And the race in Las Vegas will become the new symbol, a new shiny picture, like the Monaco stage under Ecclestone. Even brighter.

The new circuit in Las Vegas will be the twelfth Formula 1 circuit in the United States. Only thirteen countries hosted Formula One on more than one circuit: France had seven circuits, Spain six, and Great Britain, Italy and Portugal four each. The United States is among nine countries that host more than one event per season.

Also in Monaco they (previously) did not pay Formula 1 for holding the race, now this plan works in Vegas. This Grand Prix does not have its own promoter; the organization is provided by Formula 1 itself, via contractors recruited by Liberty Media. This stage was created by American Formula 1 owners.

Characteristics of the trajectory

Once again, parking was not necessary: ​​Liberty Media bought it for $240 million and installed boxes and a paddock.

The circuit in Las Vegas is a street circuit, high speed, and with a length of 6201 meters it is the second longest circuit in the championship, after Spa. Racers will complete 78% of the lap distance with the accelerator pedal fully depressed. The track curves counterclockwise, is narrow and bumpy, with poor grip. Exiting the 5th turn, the width is only 12 meters and in other areas it does not exceed 15.

The configuration includes 17 corners and the expected average speed is quite high, comparable to Monza. On a long straight line of almost two kilometers, cars can accelerate to 300 km/h and higher, flying past prestigious hotels.

Two DRS zones are located between turns 4 and 5, and on the straight between turns 13 and 14.

One of the main factors of the weekend is cold weather. When adjusting, you will have to find a compromise so that on the one hand the tires warm up and work effectively, and on the other hand the car does not have too much resistance and does not lose speed on the straight line.

Ross Brown: “At first we didn’t take into account that it is very cold at night in Las Vegas at this time of year. The race starts late Saturday evening and by then the temperature will have dropped to three to four degrees above zero.

So it will be very cold, and driving racing cars in such conditions will be a challenge. Pirelli had to work to ensure the tires could handle these temperatures.

We will certainly face new challenges that we have never faced before, but I think we are in for a spectacular run.”

Weekend schedule

All the main events of the Las Vegas Grand Prix take place at night. For the first time since 1985, the race will start on Saturday instead of Sunday, and the start time will be the latest in the history of Formula 1, but according to Moscow time, Sunday will already have arrived, so everything is quite usual.

You can follow the progress of all Formula 1 sessions on our live broadcast page.

Tire kits issued to teams for the weekend

For the tenth time this season, Pirelli will bring the softest tires to the podium: C3, C4 and C5 with the designation Hard, Medium and Soft.

When selecting tires, Pirelli relied on conditions and simulations and asked the teams for help. All sessions take place at night and at this time of year it is already cool in the central part of the Mojave Desert – in such weather the teams worked only on winter tests this year.

That is why the softest tires have been selected, which can provide grip on the slippery and cold asphalt of the city highway. Although everyone will complain about the lack of it this weekend.

Frederik VasseurFerrari team boss: “We are happy that Formula 1 is returning to Las Vegas after a forty-year hiatus. In recent years our sport has become increasingly popular in the United States, this season there are three American stages at once – a new golden age has begun for Formula 1 in America.

The US market has always been of particular interest to Ferrari and we are warmly supported here, so for this race we have come up with a unique livery for the cars.

This weekend we are introduced to a completely new circuit. The night sessions will be held in cooler conditions than other circuits this year, so the work we do on base, in briefings and in the simulator will play a key role in ensuring the best results. Our simulator is very helpful in dealing with many unknown factors, allowing riders to focus on learning the track.

Charles is always very fast on these circuits where you drive close to the barriers, and in Singapore Carlos was just as adept at it. If we give the riders everything they need, we can achieve a good result.”