Mercedes Head of Trackside Performance Riccardo Musconi hints the possibility of further challenges for the team by mentioning the weather conditions in Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix has been eagerly anticipated to return after being absent from the race calender since 1982. The Las Vegas Strip Circuit will make its F1 debut next week with the event scheduled to be a night race.
Each team on the grid has faced significant challenges in the rather controversial Las Vegas Grand Prix, despite the excitement encircling the Las Vegas event as well as uncertainty about what is to come.
The Nevada city is predicted to experience extremely cold evening temperatures, with single-digit Celsius temperatures anticipated during the sessions. Given how sensitive Pirelli tires are to track conditions, it might cause issues for the teams and the tires they use.
Although a lot of folks are still primarily concerned about the lack of data, Mercedes boss Musconi anticipates that the weather is going to present a further challenge.
“Well, it’s a complete new ball game,” Musconi said on the Akkodis F1 Race Debrief. “The weather is going to play a big part in it.
“It is quite cold at this time of the year in Vegas, especially with the sessions happening around midnight, and the tyres we have the softest selection of tyres in Vegas. So that is adding an extra dimension to the problem.
“The truth is, every team to some degree, will venture into the unknown because we don’t have any previous data.
“So, the preparation work we are conducting at the factory will have to cover different dimensions, different aspects of it more than we usually do for other tracks.”
Mercedes desires to lock up and hold onto second place in the constructors’ championship as the season’s final two races draw near.
But with Ferrari only 20 points behind, Mercedes may face challenges after a disappointing race weekend at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The Mercedes team as a whole dubbed the race weekend ‘miserable’ after George Russell pulled out of the race while Lewis Hamilton finished in eighth place. Regarding the current Mercedes car, Hamilton stated after the race, ‘two more races with this thing and hopefully no more driving it.’
As Las Vegas draws near, Mercedes looks to improve following a challenging weekend in Brazil. But the lack of clarity about what to expect might present further challenges, which could make the Silver Arrows contender struggle more than it has in the past races.
