One of the intently contested seasons for the reason that System 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 completely different winners from 4 completely 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 System 1’s earlier look in Nevada on the considerably lacklustre monitor specified by the Caesars Palace automotive park. The Las Vegas Strip monitor couldn’t be extra completely different, being very quick and spectacular. Actually, velocity 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 slender left hand hairpin which may provide a significant overtaking alternative, adopted by a slender and twisty part. After that the automobiles fly down one of many two very lengthy straights earlier than braking exhausting for flip 5, adopted by the sluggish chicane at flip 7, which ends up in one other left handed hairpin, after which it is all about bravery and velocity. The automobiles cost nearly flat out by means of the flip 10 kink after which comes a good left hand flip 12, which leads onto the 1.9 kilometre run down the “The Strip.” Pedal to the steel, the automobiles hit speeds of over 350 km/h earlier than stamping on the brakes to sort out the esses by means 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 median ambient temperature of 15°C, situations will likely be similar to these of winter testing and due to this fact, tyres and brakes might wrestle to achieve the proper working temperatures, which could produce some sudden eventualities 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 related situations this 12 months, one can count on extra of the identical. The exhausting braking factors and the numerous 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 should be on their mettle to decide on the perfect second for pit stops.
Fred Vasseur – Staff Principal: It is time for the ultimate triple-header showdown to determine the end result of this very busy season. The final three Grands Prix all contain racing at night time in desert areas: we begin in Las Vegas, at a really quick avenue circuit with few corners, a number of of them being 90 diploma turns. Nonetheless, there are nonetheless loads of attention-grabbing variables, beginning with the temperature, that drops significantly at night time. It signifies that getting the tyres into the proper working window for qualifying and the race will likely be significantly essential. It is solely the second time we race at this venue and we will count on a fantastic present, even higher than final season’s, which already shone the highlight brightly on System 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 powerful outcome so long as we guarantee we’re on high of our sport all the way down to the smallest element. Now we have ready nicely again on the manufacturing facility and Charles, Carlos and the entire group have been capable of get pleasure from a really quick 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 kind of tracks which will appear straightforward simply wanting on the structure whereas truly it is vitally troublesome for a wide range of causes. There are solely 5 nook sequences however all of them are low velocity with large braking zones, and on high of that among the corners are blind. The large braking zones must be timed to perfection even when going at speeds of over 340km/h which requires a automotive with excessive downforce to offer the arrogance to sluggish the automotive down, after which undergo and out of those corners as quick as potential. Alternatively, as quickly as you exit of those corners there are lengthy straights which name for low drag and due to this fact a low downforce setup. Then, as soon as once more on the finish of those straights there are these large braking zones however at this level the brakes and tyres have cooled down after not utilizing them for all the 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, generally even beneath 10 levels Celsius, which makes it troublesome to get the tyres in the proper 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 large challenges for the drivers and groups, not seen at every other circuit.
Final 12 months, you had little or no information to run within the simulator, but it was nonetheless the one instrument out there to assist the drivers and the group put together for this new circuit. Now you’ve got precise monitor information, what function does this instrument play in your strategy to this race? EvdL: If we examine 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 primarily based 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 information from final 12 months’s occasion now we have a way more correct prediction of what we count on 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 organize the weekend, to get accustomed to the monitor and the setup of the automotive. As with each race, Charles and Carlos have been within the simulator beforehand, engaged on optimising their driving in addition to automotive set-up to ensure now we have the absolute best start line, in addition to being ready in case situations are completely different from what we count on. That is exactly when the simulator is a particularly highly effective instrument and the preparation classes are extraordinarily useful 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 in the course of the day with the 2 free observe classes? EvdL: The strategy is not any completely different to that at every other occasion, even when the monitor is one in all a form. The event driver within the simulator may have been briefed already in the course of the preparation for the weekend on how essential it’s to optimise every nook, on condition that there are so few nook sequences the place drivers could make a distinction. It’s vital for the drivers on the monitor to have a automotive which permits them to have the arrogance to push the automotive to the restrict with out going over it, for the reason that corners are tight, and blind. So the simulator driver will spend a variety of his concentrate on the steadiness and driving model by means of these corners, generally even going over the restrict and hitting the partitions – happily on the simulator the harm is just not 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 help the trackside group we use laps finished in the course of the Free Apply classes and reproduce the very same situations, automotive set-up and driving on the simulator. This enables us to establish the strengths and weaknesses of the automotive and we will attempt to enhance these with a purpose to give suggestions to the trackside group who could then modify the automotive accordingly. We additionally use these classes to discover what to anticipate in case the climate modifications in the course of the weekend – for instance temperatures, wind course and depth could also be completely different day-to-day or they’ll even change throughout a single session. By reproducing these climate situations within the simulator we will inform the drivers what to anticipate to permit them to extract the utmost out of the automotive even earlier than they exit on monitor.
Details & Figures
150. The approximate variety of reveals that happen in Las Vegas every single day. They embrace performances from artists of the calibre of Woman Gaga, Bruno Mars and Adele, who all have houses within the metropolis. Prior to now, artists resembling 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 the planet, however in the present day 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 residence 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, motels and companies which have closed their doorways or modified title. The museum not solely collects the indicators, but additionally restores them to their former glory.
4 500. The share enhance 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 in the present day 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 larger than that consumed in the entire of the remainder of the US.
