With Rain Predicted to Hit Already-Freezing Las Vegas GP, Will Ensued Chaos Drown F1?

F1 steps into the unknown with this weekend’s Las Vegas GP. The Las Vegas Grand Prix made it back to the F1 calendar after an absence of 4 decades. This time around, however, it’s back with a brand new street circuit and time for the race. The race weekend will be on the nights and evenings of Thursday through Saturday. With cold weather already expected for the weekend, the predicted rain will definitely throw in a spanner toward the teams. But when exactly is this rain predicted?

Concerns about the cold weather temperatures at the Las Vegas GP have been going on for a while now. Many Team Principals and drivers have already commented on the conditions being a challenge for the cars, especially for the tires. Pirelli is bringing the softest of the three compounds to counter the extreme cold temperatures. However, with temperatures expected to go as low as 5°C, bringing even the softest C5 compound tires in the operating window will be challenging.

A major concern is also the long straights that suck the temperatures out of the tire surface and not enough corners to generate that temperature. Hence, building temperature will be one thing, keeping those tires in the optimal temperature will be another. Amid all this, recent weather predictions show the chances of rain in Las Vegas during the race weekend to be on the higher side.

While no rain threat is predicted for the Thursday session, there’s a 50% chance of rain for Friday. And more than a 50% chance of rain for Friday night when the qualifying is going to be happening. Also, there is a greater than 60% chance of rain in the afternoon before the race begins. We’ve already seen how when the temperatures suddenly dropped at the Brazil GP qualifying session, the cars started slipping and locking up everywhere and the drivers had a terrible feeling about what the car was doing. 

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Rain in already difficult and cold temperatures will be challenging for the teams as well as Pirelli. As Las Vegas is going to be a street race, the grip levels are going to be very low for the drivers. Usually, the grip increases over the weekend as the cars go around the circuit. However, if the rain arrives, it’ll wash down any rubber laid down by the cars. Let’s see what the teams and drivers are saying about the cold temperatures.

“Driving on Ice”: Christian Horner and others advise on the freezing Las Vegas GP

Max Verstappen earlier made comments on how he hit a lot of barriers while testing out the Las Vegas GP track on the F1 2023 game. And that was without the freezing weather variables included in the game. It could be a lot worse in real life. Many teams have already spoken to F1 about the temperatures and have raised their concerns. 

Christian Horner while talking about the track said, “I was watching Max on the simulator yesterday driving around the circuit. It looks a great track. I mean, it’s gonna be super fast, there’s gonna be a lot of overtaking, opportunities, and the tires. It could be like driving on ice.” Pirelli’s Motorsport Director Mario Isola said, “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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Tire troubles in an F1 race in the US, sound familiar? The horrors of the 2005 US GP linger on, as all drivers & teams will hope to avoid that kind of farcical at the Vegas GP. After all, the much-anticipated event has gotten so much hype, it could be awfully anti-climatic with so much money & effort at stake!