LAS VEGAS — Formula One has finally descended on the Las Vegas Strip after months of hype and preparation. Going into the 2023 season’s penultimate race, both championships have already been claimed by Red Bull and Max Verstappen. But there’s plenty left to play for, from Mercedes and Ferrari fighting for second place to Williams striving to keep P7 despite a late surge from AlphaTauri. Advertisement Those remaining battles will play out at the all-new Las Vegas Strip Circuit, a thrilling 3.853-mile (6.201-kilometer) temporary track expected to deliver velocity on par with Monza’s “Temple of Speed,” through the heart and under the lights of an iconic city. Like all circuits, the design and layout present their own quirks. The curbs are decorated with hearts, clubs, spades and diamonds, leaning into the casino theme. Drivers will zip past both old and new Las Vegas landmarks, like the Venetian and the Sphere, and the longest straight (and prime overtaking opportunity) is down the Strip, one of the world’s most famous streets. Along with the hype and glam have come some concerns, including how construction has impacted the local community. Questions remain, including how the tires will react to the cooler temperatures of the desert night. However it shakes out, this circuit is sure to provide a memorable race. Before the cars hit the track, here’s what you need to know about F1’s return to Las Vegas. Not the first dance The flashiness of the Las Vegas meeting the glamor of F1 seems like a no-brainer. Why didn’t anyone think of this before? Actually, they did. Longtime race fans will recall the short-lived Caesar’s Palace Grand Prix that ran in the parking lot of that casino in 1981 and 1982. It didn’t go well at all. The track was squeezed into a space between the Strip and I-15, which necessitated a design that snaked back and forth and lacked both character and good racing. The race also ran during the daytime, which meant hot temperatures and a backdrop of desert blandness instead of neon. Plus, Americans didn’t much care about F1 back then. Racer Derek Daly told The Athletic drivers would get dressed in their hotel rooms at Caesars Palace and walk to breakfast and the track in their firesuits – and no one noticed or cared. You can read more about that race in this story from our Jordan Bianchi, but here’s a quote from Caesar’s GP organizer Chris Pook: “You cannot put two pounds of manure in a one-pound bag.” Let’s just say this version of F1 in Vegas has quite a bit more space to work with – not to mention hype, money and outside interest. GO DEEPER ‘Lesson learned’: The utter failure of F1’s first Las Vegas grand prix One of the musts for the Las Vegas Grand Prix was that the race had to be on the Strip. “The key feature of the track had to be the Strip, it had to be the area in front of the Bellagio, you had to get to 212 mph going down the Las Vegas Strip,” LVGP CEO Renee Wilm told The Athletic. Two years ago, Wilm said she stood alongside engineers from the Tilke design firm, on the corner of Koval and Harmon Ave., with a giant map of a potential circuit. “We literally just walked, and I said ‘Can we do this here, can we do that there?’” And Wilm is already looking ahead to next year, talking about adding more general admission, moving around hospitality areas, and changing out some suites for grandstands. The analysis will come after the first Las Vegas GP is complete. GO DEEPER Glitz, glamour, VIPs: How Las Vegas landed an F1 Grand Prix Tire blankets and hand warmers Apparently, it’s news to some people that Las Vegas gets cold at night in November. The desert chill when the sun goes down is a very real thing, as temperatures typically dip into the 40-degree Fahrenheit range at this time of year. Fortunately, the forecast seems to be calling for a mild weekend. The lowest temperature during any of the sessions shouldn’t be below 49° F (9.4° C). And that can very much make a difference in how the race will play out, as it presents a new challenge for Pirelli’s tires. “It is probably the first time that we expect conditions this cold,” Mario Isola, the F1 chief for Pirelli, told The Athletic . Tires must heat up to generate grip, so cooler temperatures could mean cars slide around enough to make mistakes or get into the wall. It’s been a frequent conversation topic in the paddock for weeks now, and has become one of the primary talking points heading into the weekend. With concern comes intrigue. “Air is an incredible coolant when it comes to passing through at high speed,” former F1 driver David Coulthard told The Athletic on Tuesday. “So it’s going to be a big challenge switching the tires on and less chance to overheat the tire.” That could mean a team like Haas, which often qualifies well but then tends to see a performance dropoff during the race as its cars overheat the tires, could be a wild card. “Maybe Haas will have the strongest race of the year because it’s cold temperatures,” Coulthard said. “There’s a lot of unknowns, and that in itself adds an excitement.” Street circuits are unique because “it’s not like you can come here two months earlier and try the track,” Charles Leclerc said to The Athletic . All of the pre-race preparation is done virtually, which comes in different forms. “Whether it’s at home on the ‘F1 23’ (video game) or in Maranello on the simulator, basically, all the laps that I’ve been doing to prepare this weekend are all virtual,” the Ferrari driver added, “but now with the technology that we have nowadays is just incredible. Everything is basically just the real thing, which makes the preparation much better.” Technology has evolved over the years, and the drivers need these virtual models to be as accurate as possible, especially visually. Leclerc said, “We are obviously taking visual references to turn, to brake, where to throttle. And based on the game now, it’s extremely close to reality, which allows us to actually practice virtually before getting to the real thing.” You can take your own virtual look at the Strip Circuit right here, with video courtesy of EA Games. Key points of interest The tight confines of the Las Vegas Strip Circuit leave zero room for error, but at least it’s not a sprint weekend, so drivers have three hour-long practice sessions and plenty of time to learn the track in real life. “Opportunities for everyone because it’s so different,” Lando Norris said, “and a lot of question marks for everyone so you have plenty of things to try and prepare for and be ready for.” Here are the highlights of the circuit. Turns 1-2: The pit building and an overtaking opportunity The massive, 300,000-square-foot building was constructed in an empty lot and will serve as F1’s U.S. headquarters going forward. Turn 1 comes at the end of the building and will provide the first opportunity for chaos when the cars hit a left-hand hairpin turn 218 yards (200 meters) from the start line. It’s expected that drivers will accelerate towards the first corner at 190 mph (305 kph) before slamming on their brakes, making this section a potential overtaking opportunity. Turns 5-9: The Sphere section While the giant emoji face won’t be featured on the Sphere during the race (any yellow could be confused for a caution flag), this technical section will still be tricky. As F1-themed content lights up the structure, drivers will need to make sure not to let their cold tires get the best of them here – especially since there’s a blind corner at Turn 7 which could put them in a dangerous spot if they spin. Focusing a bit on the technical side, this is expected to be the slowest section. Drivers will need to defend while understeering and braking as they navigate around the 516-foot-wide (157-meter-wide) LED screen. Turns 6 and 7 provide a lengthy combined braking moment. “In the simulator, (that) was actually quite tricky to get right with the braking,” Carlos Sainz said. This is the image that will be beamed around the world and reach the radars of even non-motorsport fans. The cars will scream down a 1.1-mile section of the famous Strip, passing the Mirage, Caesars Palace and the Bellagio fountains along the way – all while traveling at an estimated top speed over 210 mph (337 kph). These numbers come close to Monza, where cars top out north of 213 mph (344 km/h). This straight is the second longest on F1’s calendar, and the back half of the Strip is a DRS zone, which many cab drivers probably wish they had on a daily basis. The Strip circuit will also feature one of the fastest average speeds on the calendar: Organizers estimate it at 147 mph (236.574 kph), in league with Monza, Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah, and the U.K.’s Silverstone. Turns 14-16 At the end of the Strip straight, at the intersection with Planet Hollywood on the left and the Cosmopolitan on the right, drivers will encounter a chicane that steers them onto Harmon Ave. It’s a tricky chicane where drivers need to hit the apex just right before gathering more speed as they barrel towards the start/finish line. It’s expected the drivers will be going nearly flat out as they navigate through Turns 15 and 16. (Lead image: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images, Dan Istitene – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images, Alex Bierens de Haan – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images; Design: Eamonn Dalton/The Athletic)
This content was originally published here.