One of the intently contested seasons for the reason that Components 1 hybrid period started in 2014, is coming to an in depth.
The ultimate triple-header of a championship, which up to now has seen seven totally different winners from 4 totally different groups, begins with the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Simply 49 factors cowl the highest 4 groups within the Constructors’ standings, with the Maranello group second, 36 factors behind McLaren, with 147 nonetheless up for grabs.
The Las Vegas venue made its debut final 12 months, 42 years on from Components 1’s earlier look in Nevada on the considerably lacklustre monitor specified by the Caesars Palace automobile park. The Las Vegas Strip monitor couldn’t be extra totally different, being very quick and spectacular. In truth, pace is its standout attribute, with common speeds of round 240 km/h, coupled with some extra technical sections. The lap begins with a brief acceleration to show 1, a slim left hand hairpin which may provide an important overtaking alternative, adopted by a slim and twisty part. After that the vehicles fly down one of many two very lengthy straights earlier than braking arduous for flip 5, adopted by the gradual chicane at flip 7, which results in one other left handed hairpin, after which it is all about bravery and pace. The vehicles cost virtually flat out by way of the flip 10 kink after which comes a decent left hand flip 12, which leads onto the 1.9 kilometre run down the “The Strip.” Pedal to the steel, the vehicles hit speeds of over 350 km/h earlier than stamping on the brakes to deal with the esses by way of turns 14, 15 and 16 after which the ultimate barely curved run to the end line. It takes simply over a minute and a half to finish the 6.201 kilometres.
Right now of 12 months, the Mojave desert is a chilly place to be, particularly at night time. With a mean ambient temperature of 15°C, circumstances might be similar to these of winter testing and subsequently, tyres and brakes might wrestle to achieve the best working temperatures, which could produce some sudden situations in qualifying and the race. The chilly monitor floor topics the tyres to appreciable stress and that has a big affect on race technique. In 2023, most groups went for a one-stop, beginning on the Medium compound tyres and switching to the Hards at across the midway mark. With comparable circumstances this 12 months, one can anticipate extra of the identical. The arduous braking factors and the various overtaking alternatives dotted across the monitor imply that the sudden ought to all the time be anticipated and with it, an look from the Security Automotive. Drivers and strategists must be on their mettle to decide on the very best second for pit stops.
Fred Vasseur – Crew Principal: It is time for the ultimate triple-header showdown to resolve the result of this very busy season. The final three Grands Prix all contain racing at night time in desert places: we begin in Las Vegas, at a really quick avenue circuit with few corners, a number of of them being 90 diploma turns. Nevertheless, there are nonetheless loads of attention-grabbing variables, beginning with the temperature, that drops significantly at night time. It implies that getting the tyres into the best working window for qualifying and the race might be notably vital. It is solely the second time we race at this venue and we will anticipate an amazing present, even higher than final season’s, which already shone the highlight brightly on Components 1. For our half, we intend to be preventing on the entrance, simply as we have been final 12 months: we all know now we have the potential to return away with a robust consequence so long as we guarantee we’re on high of our sport all the way down to the smallest element. Now we have ready effectively again on the manufacturing unit and Charles, Carlos and the entire group have been in a position to get pleasure from a really brief break, able to go once more, extra decided than ever. We’re assured and we all know what now we have to do to maintain the Constructors’ title combat alive.
Ferrari in the US
GP contested: 65
Debut: 1952 Indianapolis 500 Miles (A. Ascari ret.)
Wins: 14 (21.54%)
Pole positions: 18 (27.69%)
Quickest laps: 16 (24.61%)
Podiums: 46 (23.59%)
Three Inquiries to Erik Van der Leer, Senior Engineer, Driving Simulator.
Are you able to inform us in regards to the challenges that the Las Vegas monitor presents, each from a structure perspective (lengthy straights, low downforce, brakes) and by way of its location? Erik Van der Leer: Las Vegas is a type of tracks that will appear straightforward simply trying on the structure whereas truly it is vitally troublesome for quite a lot of causes. There are solely 5 nook sequences however all of them are low pace with massive braking zones, and on high of that among the corners are blind. The massive braking zones should be timed to perfection even when going at speeds of over 340km/h which requires a automobile with excessive downforce to offer the boldness to gradual the automobile down, after which undergo and out of those corners as quick as attainable. Alternatively, as quickly as you exit of those corners there are lengthy straights which name for low drag and subsequently a low downforce setup. Then, as soon as once more on the finish of those straights there are these massive braking zones however at this level the brakes and tyres have cooled down after not utilizing them for the complete straight – including one other stage of problem for the drivers to handle. All of this in a metropolis circuit the place the partitions are very shut by leaving no margin for errors. Las Vegas is in a desert and the occasion takes place at night time. This implies temperatures drop in a short time, typically even beneath 10 levels Celsius, which makes it troublesome to get the tyres in the best window for a single push lap, and equally troublesome to maintain them within the window for lengthy runs. That is made much more troublesome given the lengthy straights which permit the tyres to chill down quickly, creating massive challenges for the drivers and groups, not seen at some other circuit.
Final 12 months, you had little or no information to run within the simulator, but it was nonetheless the one software obtainable to assist the drivers and the group put together for this new circuit. Now you may have precise monitor information, what function does this software play in your method to this race? EvdL: If we evaluate what we knew final 12 months to what we all know this 12 months the image actually has modified utterly. The place final 12 months the monitor mannequin used on the simulator was based mostly on drawings, this 12 months now we have a full illustration of the monitor, the asphalt its environment. Moreover, contemplating we even have all the info from final 12 months’s occasion now we have a way more correct prediction of what we anticipate to occur on the Las Vegas GP this 12 months. This implies the engineers and improvement drivers but additionally Carlos and Charles themselves have a significantly better alternative to arrange the weekend, to get accustomed to the monitor and the setup of the automobile. As with each race, Charles and Carlos have been within the simulator beforehand, engaged on optimising their driving in addition to automobile set-up to ensure now we have the very best place to begin, in addition to being ready in case circumstances are totally different from what we anticipate. That is exactly when the simulator is a particularly highly effective software and the preparation classes are extraordinarily precious to permit the drivers to optimise their driving model for a particular monitor.
On a monitor with so many tight corners, what work do you do with the third driver within the simulator throughout the day with the 2 free apply classes? EvdL: The method isn’t any totally different to that at some other occasion, even when the monitor is certainly one of a sort. The event driver within the simulator could have been briefed already throughout the preparation for the weekend on how vital it’s to optimise every nook, on condition that there are so few nook sequences the place drivers could make a distinction. It’s essential for the drivers on the monitor to have a automobile which permits them to have the boldness to push the automobile to the restrict with out going over it, for the reason that corners are tight, and blind. So the simulator driver will spend lots of his concentrate on the stability and driving model by way of these corners, typically even going over the restrict and hitting the partitions – fortuitously on the simulator the injury shouldn’t be actual (besides maybe for the kickback the simulator driver will really feel from the chassis to let him know he has hit one thing!). Throughout a typical session the place we assist the trackside group we use laps carried out throughout the Free Follow classes and reproduce the very same circumstances, automobile set-up and driving on the simulator. This permits us to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the automobile and we will attempt to enhance these with a purpose to give suggestions to the trackside group who could then regulate the automobile accordingly. We additionally use these classes to discover what to anticipate in case the climate adjustments throughout the weekend – for instance temperatures, wind route and depth could also be totally different daily or they will even change throughout a single session. By reproducing these climate circumstances within the simulator we will inform the drivers what to anticipate to permit them to extract the utmost out of the automobile even earlier than they exit on monitor.
Info & Figures
150. The approximate variety of exhibits that happen in Las Vegas every single day. They embody performances from artists of the calibre of Girl Gaga, Bruno Mars and Adele, who all have houses within the metropolis. Previously, artists akin to Celine Dion, Tom Jones and Elton Jones have performed residencies in Las Vegas, performing as much as 50 concert events a 12 months within the Nevada metropolis.
168. The peak in metres of the Excessive Curler wheel above the Strip, which opened on 31 March 2014. On the time, it was the tallest wheel on this planet, however immediately that honour goes to the 250 metre excessive Ain Dubai, constructed within the eponymous emirate in 2021.
200. The variety of neon indicators within the Neon Boneyard, also called the Museum of Neon, one of many strangest sights in Las Vegas. It was established in 1996, simply north of the Strip and covers 10,000 sq. metres. The Neon Boneyard is dwelling to among the most well-known neon indicators from town which inform the story of the style from the mid-Twentieth century to the current day. Lots of the indicators come from previous casinos, accommodations and companies which have closed their doorways or modified identify. The museum not solely collects the indicators, but additionally restores them to their former glory.
4 500. The proportion improve within the inhabitants of Las Vegas over the previous sixty years or so. The town was based in 1905 and by 1960, it had a inhabitants of simply 50,000, whereas immediately it has grown to 2.3 million.
27 200. The kilos of shellfish eaten every single day in Las Vegas. It’s the metropolis’s favorite meals by a good distance and the amount is bigger than that consumed in the entire of the remainder of the US.
