The Las Vegas Grand Prix is upon us, the penultimate race of the season. While some may say the season has been boring with Max Verstappen dominating, the other aspects and teams behind Red Bull have been quite close. Ferrari, who were expected to challenge Red Bull this year, however, were nowhere near the pace of the RB19. With Max Verstappen looking to add another win on the USA soil to his tally, will Ferrari be able to stop the unstoppable force?

Max Verstappen has been flawless this season. Take the Singapore GP away and Red Bull has won every other race this season. That’s not to say that Ferrari hasn’t. While there have been strategic issues and unforced errors, the SF23 has shown raw pace at times. We’ve already seen what Ferrari was able to do at Monza. But will Max Verstappen overcome the confident Ferrari?

Frederic Vasseur and Charles Leclerc seem confident of having a strong race in Las Vegas. But what are they saying? Let’s have a look at it. 

Charles Leclerc and Frederic Vasseur are confident of a Strong Performance in Las Vegas

There haven’t been many races where Ferrari has been confident of challenging Red Bull for a win. After all, the RB19 has fared well in almost every condition. However, going into the Las Vegas GP, there are many unknowns with only simulation data for the teams to compare what it’ll actually be like. While Vasseur and Leclerc’s claim may seem like a shot in the dark, it doesn’t make sense in the grand scheme of things. Let’s see what they are saying.

Coming into the Las Vegas GP, Fred Vasseur made comments about how his team is confident of pushing and achieving the result if everything goes smoothly. He said, “We are confident that we will have cards to play, we must do so by supporting our drivers and putting them in a position to fight for the results that we know are within our reach.”

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Vasseur further expressed his confidence in his drivers and said, “Charles is always very fast on these types of circuits where the walls are close and Carlos showed in Singapore that he is no less adept in this area.” Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, during the Thursday Press Conference advised on how Ferrari thinks that they are going to be strong here. But what is it that tilts the scale in Ferrari’s favor? 

Characteristics of Las Vegas Strip Street Circuit that give Ferrari an advantage over Max Verstappen and Co.

One of Ferrari’s Achilles heels this season has been their tire degradation. The SF23 is known to be harsh on its tires and eats through it really quickly. However, this also implies that Ferrari is able to bring the tires up to temperature in the optimal operating window the quickest. Even Leclerc, in Thursday’s press conference, advised on how Red Bull massages its tires up to temperature, whereas Ferrari gets them up in the optimal window quickly.

With cold weather, going as low as 5°C predicted for the Las Vegas GP, Ferrari’s tire advantage might turn into an advantage for the Las Vegas GP. Maintaining the temperature in the tires and getting them up to temperature faster on the cold surface definitely boosts the chances of Scuderia. Also, the layout of the track will favor the characteristics of the SF23.

The Las Vegas Strip circuit mainly consists of long straights and slow-speed corners. In that sense, it is very much like the Temple of Speed, Monza. And Ferrari was super strong in Monza as they qualified on pole. Had it not been for the tire degradation, Ferrari would’ve had a chance to challenge for the win. These Monza-like characteristics with cold temperature might actually be the reason behind Ferrari performing well, and Max Verstappen lacking at the Strip Street Circuit. 

Does Max Verstappen have what it takes to bag the 10th consecutive USA win or will Ferrari triumph?

The Las Vegas GP is still a race with many unknowns. If Red Bull is able to understand and figure a way around the cold temperatures, then Max Verstappen definitely has a shot at winning the GP. The 2019 US GP was the last time someone apart from Verstappen [Valtteri Bottas] won a race on American soil. If Verstappen wins in Las Vegas, it’ll be his 10th consecutive win in the USA. 

With the dominance that Max Verstappen and Red Bull showed, it is hard to argue that anyone else would be the favorite to win the race. No matter what conditions are thrown at Verstappen, he has managed to come out on top this season. That being said, Ferrari’s confidence and suitable characteristics toward the SF23 do pose a threat to the Dutchman this weekend. A better image of the situation will arise after the practice session is done and there is actual data from the track to analyze. 

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