The Brazilian GP saw drivers crawling at the end of the pitlane and caused an issue. Max Verstappen decided to disregard the other drivers in front of him and overtook them like they were nothing. However, this pitlane incident is nothing compared to what might be the case in Las Vegas. But what makes the Las Vegas GP pitlane a threat for the drivers? What is it that actually makes the pitlane a potential hazard? 

Las Vegas GP returns to the F1 calendar after an absence of 4 decades. However, that hasn’t come without its own challenges. After the race was confirmed last year, F1 has been working diligently toward making the event possible. The track takes to the Las Vegas Strip circuit and the other famous attractions around it. While it’s going to be a street circuit, building a pitlane and paddock on the strip was not feasible. Hence F1 built the paddock and pit lane near the Harbour Island by buying land. This however poses a challenge in itself and puts the drivers at risk. Let’s see how.

Questions raised around the Pitlane exit at the Las Vegas Strip Street Circuit

The way that the Las Vegas Strip Street Circuit is designed requires the driver to take the sharp left hairpin that is Turn 1. With the paddock being built on the inside of the start-finish straight, the pitlane exit also follows the hairpin-like exit and merges with the track. It is in such a way that the pit exit falls on the apex of the turn 1 hairpin. This is where the problem starts for the drivers.

The ideal and the fastest line for the driver through Turn One would be to go wider on the entry, hit the apex of Turn 1, and then make a wide exit out of the turn. Hitting the apex, however, means that drivers would have to cross the pitlane exit line which poses a threat to a driver coming out of the pitlane as well as the driver on track as well. A threat of not only a collision but the driver on track being stunned by the car suddenly appearing out of the pits. And F1 cars are such that any sudden move to avoid a collision can lead to the driver losing control of the car. 

Also, the temperatures at the Las Vegas GP are supposed to be in single digits which will make it even harder for the driver coming out of the pits to keep the car within the lines. The cold temperatures themselves pose another problem for the Las Vegas GP. Let’s have a look at what it is.

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The Freezing Las Vegas GP leads to tire doubts within the teams. 

The temperature for the Las Vegas GP is predicted to go as low as 4°C. The current Pirelli robber is very temperature sensitive and based on the compound has its own optimal working temperature window. With the cold weather and tarmac, it’ll be very difficult to bring the tires up to temperature. And once they do get up to temperature maintaining that temperature through the slow-speed corners and long straights will be very difficult. Many drivers and Team Principals have already spoken about the issue. 

Even Pirelli’s Motorsport Director Mario Isola spoke about the issue as he said, “I believe that we are going to talk about Pirelli in Vegas because of the temperature. The asphalt is quite smooth according to the information I have and so the level of grip will be very poor, I can anticipate this. Even if we selected the three softest compounds in the range. I can imagine that with these super cool conditions and a circuit that is not generating a lot of energy into the tire, the warm-up will be tricky.”

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Las Vegas’s return to the F1 calendar for the first time since the 80s is bringing some crucial issues again. The weather was a challenge back then too, causing tire issues & 41 years later, F1 teams may get a deja vu, this time in the chilly nights on the Strip! Fingers crossed that the Vegas track doesn’t welcome our drivers with a pile-up of collisions & crashes on Lap 1!