RW 22 – Tyre Selection

The Las Vegas Grand Prix is the third round this year to be held in the United States, following on from Miami and Austin.

After the 7.004 kilometre-long Spa-Francorchamps circuit, the Nevadan track is the second longest on the calendar at 6.201 kilometres.
It features 17 corners, tackled over 50 times in the race. It is a high speed venue, with three straights and top speeds that hit 350 km/h last year.

Once again this year, track action begins with two free practice sessions getting underway on Thursday, leading up to the race on Saturday night, run entirely under the floodlights.

As has become the normal for street circuits, Pirelli has selected the three softest compounds in the race – C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft).

The main challenge on the tyre front will be the warm up, especially during qualifying and for the front axle in particular. Drivers will have to be careful to bring the tyres up to temperature without overworking them, avoiding any lock-ups at the heaviest braking points.

Furthermore, low temperatures lead to reduction in grips and that can cause increased graining.
These factors could lead to a speeding up of the wear process, which suggests a two-stop strategy, which was in fact the most popular choice last year.
However a one-stop can still be quite competitive, especially if the driver gradually brings the tyres up to temperature, prolonging its life over a long stint.

As always on a street circuit, red flags and Safety Cars are a strong probability with all the unknowns that can bring, including a restart in terms of tyre temperature management.