Will F1's return to a street track again offer greater chances for the chasing pack to challenge Max Verstappen and Red Bull? watch the Las Vegas GP live on Sky Sports F1. Practice from 4.30am on Friday with Sunday's race at 6am
Friday 17 November 2023 03:59, UK
McLaren's Lando Norris believes the inaugural Las Vegas GP weekend will present "opportunities for everyone" as F1 races on the new street track amid chilly evening temperatures for the first time.
F1 drivers will hit the 3.8-mile track, which features a flat-out section down the world-famous Vegas Strip, on Friday morning UK time, with Practice One at 4.30am followed by Practice Two at 8am live on Sky Sports F1.
While much focus in the build-up to the event has inevitably been around the glamour and razzmatazz attached to racing through the heart of Sin City, the challenges of the circuit itself and the local night-time conditions - when temperatures are barely expected to be in the low-mid teens - are not being underestimated by the drivers.
And in a season of almost total domination by Red Bull and Max Verstappen, the chasing pack are hopeful that the variances of the new event can throw up some surprises.
"Opportunities for everyone because it's so different," predicted Norris, who has finished second four times in the last six grands prix, when asked about what he expected from the weekend.
"A lot of question marks for everyone.
"So yeah, plenty of things to try and prepare for and be ready for - but also, with FP1, FP2 and FP3 a bit more time than what we've had the last few weekends with the Sprint races, to get our heads on things and making sure we're prepared before qualifying."
Lewis Hamilton, whose Mercedes team are yet to win this season but are hopeful of an improved showing after an abject weekend last time out in Brazil, said: "I think it's going to be a challenge and getting the tyres working this weekend.
"We are often not necessarily the quickest on the straights so that will be a challenge to see if we cannot lose too much on the straights and keep up with everyone in the corners.
"It's not the most technical of circuits so hopefully that makes it a little bit easier."
It was at F1's last visit to a city street circuit - the Singapore GP in September - that Red Bull suffered what remains their only race-day defeat of the season.
As the world champions unusually struggled to get their tyres working properly, it was Ferrari who took advantage and Carlos Sainz, the victor in Singapore, sees aspects of the Vegas layout that should again play to their car's strengths.
"Better hopes than recently, mainly because the track looks probably a bit more suited to us than recent tracks," said Sainz.
"Long straights, like in Monza [where he also took pole]. Tight corners, like in Monza or Singapore.
"Yeah, maybe there's the combination of Turns One and Two where we will not be very quick but then the rest of the track, I think our cars should be better suited than recent events. And hopefully that gives us a better opportunity."
Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc is likely to be another contender at the front, particularly in qualifying, and he was beckoned over by Verstappen to join him in the Red Bull driver's pen interview with Sky F1 to discuss the Scuderia's prospects against Red Bull.
And although Leclerc predicted that Red Bull will "still have the upper hand, for sure" this weekend, he stopped short of a completing suggesting that Verstappen would walk away with it.
"Maybe in qualy [Ferrari can be ahead], we never know," added Leclerc. ""We think we're going to be strong here."
Since Red Bull stumbled badly in Singapore, Verstappen has resumed his dominance of 2023 by winning the five subsequent grands prix.
He has won a record 17 times this year with Las Vegas and next week's season-ending Abu Dhabi GP still to come.
The world champion made clear his personal dislike of the spectacle around the Las Vegas event in his media-day interviews and, although he inevitably starts as favourite again for the inaugural win here, an unimpressed Dutchman also described the track as "not very interesting".
"There's not many corners to be honest. I don't know. It also will depend a bit probably on how grippy it is," said Verstappen. "Doesn't look like it has a lot of grip, but we'll go with the flow.
"I don't think it's that exciting, that's the only thing. I think already for me a street circuit is not that exciting, especially with these new cars, they are just too heavy."
But that certainly wasn't the view shared by most drivers at what is arguably F1's highest-profile event of all time.
AlphaTauri's Daniel Ricciardo told Sky Italy: "Vegas feels like you are in a movie set! The whole city just feels like something from another world. Not the real world.
"To have Formula 1 here... even the paddock, the way they brought it up, it's crazy. It feels really cool."
Sky Sports F1's Karun Chandhok:
"I think they have done a spectacular job. It goes past all the sights that you have heard of. It's very, very high-speed - much quicker than I expected. When you look at the track map you don't realise just how long these straights are. It's going to be the same downforce level as Monza, some of the teams tell me.
"Which means we are going to get amazing slipstreaming like Baku. The straight from Turn 12, down the Strip, down to Turn 14 is only 200 metres shorter than that big run we get in Baku where we see incredible double and triple overtakes. I'm looking forward to seeing the racing, it's going to be great."
Sky Sports F1's David Croft:
"For the engineers it's an absolute nightmare because what they want is more downforce to help the tyres get enough heat in them to generate a little bit of grip out on the track.
"I think we are going to see lots of lock-ups as well. Certainly when they turn left at the MGM Grand at the end of the straight that is going to be a significant focal point for this race, where it could be won or where it could be lost."
Friday November 17
Saturday November 18
Sunday November 19
Get ready for the big one: Formula 1 in Las Vegas! See drivers race down the Strip, and past landmarks like Caesars Palace and the Bellagio, on F1's newest street track. Watch the whole Las Vegas GP weekend live on Sky Sports F1, starting this Friday with lights out on Sunday at 6am. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW
