The F1 tyre struggles expected in Las Vegas' low-temperature winter climate

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, it's started to get a little chilly in the last few weeks - and dark. Summer slipped behind the curtain long ago, and only the ersatz light from street lamps and far-too-early Christmas decorations provide illumination at 5pm on the journey home from work.

Back in the day or, at least, those days between 1985 and 1995, Adelaide offered some respite to the Formula 1 contingent already weary of the winter's approach. A cold November tinkering in a lock-up in Northamptonshire could be tempered with the lengthy plane ride Down Under; the heights of summer were not far away in Australia's opposing seasons.

Instead, the F1 circus' contemporary trajectory leads to further indulgences in an extreme cold-and-dark climate. Las Vegas, surrounded by the Mojave Desert that crosses the California-Nevada border, sheds its warmth readily as the night falls. Temperatures this week could be as low - if not lower - as 10 degrees Celsius as the paddock jolts into life long after sunset. Pack a jumper, folks. 

But this isn't a column purely concerned with offering sensible advice to F1 personnel. The low temperatures over the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend, expected to be around 10-14C during the sessions if current forecasts are anything to go by, will affect proceedings beyond pitwall incumbents opting for more outerwear. It'll affect how teams opt to run their cars entirely, in deference to how willing the tyres are to stay within their desired window over a qualifying lap and the race.

There's one truism of F1 car design: that a team must build the car that serves the tyres' needs the most. When testing took place in Barcelona, most assumed that the races held there later in the year were dull because the teams had so much data on the place. That's partly true, but the disparity in temperatures between the two events masked quite a lot of the teams' knowledge of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya simply because the tyres weren't operating in quite the same way. 

Teams generally prefer warmer climates for their pre-season testing work, which perhaps accounts for one of the reasons why recent tests have been held at the warmer Bahrain (although the other reasons are mainly financial). F1 doesn't usually have races in such cold conditions, so testing in them is of limited use.

Tyre management is pivotal to a successful Las Vegas GP

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

With Vegas' addition to the calendar, however, it's a bit different.

First, there's the direct effect on the tyres. In hot, sunny weather, the asphalt heats up and imparts that energy into the tyre. That yields all sorts of effects; if the track is too hot, the tyres start to undergo thermal degradation and can be susceptible to blistering if the carcass continues to escalate in temperature. In cold weather, it takes more to get those tyres up to temperature; at night, that's enhanced as one cannot rely on the track's surface temperature to help.

In low temperatures, drivers have to be much more conscientious in how they prepare the tyre for a qualifying lap. If the tyres aren't warmed up all the way through, then they're much more at risk of graining as the surface temperature far exceeds that of the tyre carcass. Think of it like cooking a chicken; if the oven is too hot, the outside of your hopefully well-seasoned poultry will burn but the inside will remain an undesirable shade of salmonella-risk pink. That's graining and, because street circuits generally have low roughness, it's also harder to obtain the mechanical grip from the tyre. As such, it's moving about a bit less, so less energy is imparted into the tyre, and so there's not as much kinetic energy that can be converted into heat. 

Getting the tyres into the right window is going to be of great importance; a driver can produce the right inputs around a lap but, without the temperature in their tyres, this will account for a considerable loss of time. Pirelli will make the three softest compounds in its suite available for Las Vegas, and thus having the C5s for qualifying will ensure the tyres are easier to switch on - but it might not be at the snap of one's fingers. It'll take careful preparation from the driver on the warm-up lap, and sensible tinkering with suspension settings to induce more load in certain conditions. 

"We've done a big step in tyre management, but that means we also left something behind in cold conditions" Charles Leclerc

Having last year's data to look at will help offer some direction with set-up changes. Last year's hard tyre (C3) was ultimately prone to graining over last year's race, but with careful coaxing from the drivers, it could be a very good race tyre. 

But there's a further complication: the circuit's layout itself. The Las Vegas Strip Circuit has two very long straights and few high-to-medium speed corners and thus necessitates a stripped-back aerodynamic package to ensure drivers are not encumbered by too much drag. That stands in stark contrast to loading up the tyres to generate the requisite heat; more downforce not only helps to heat up tyres more uniformly but also protects the rears from sliding around and minimises the risk of graining. 

Teams will want to dial the downforce in to help the tyres out, but not at the risk of losing top speed. Efficiency will be the factor that delineates between success and failure in Vegas, and so it might be feasible that the teams play around with aerodynamic set-ups similar to those they use in Baku. 

Las Vegas has one of the longest start-finish straights on the F1 calendar

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

On recent form, McLaren and Red Bull should be in a good place to handle that; both have efficient cars; McLaren was good at Monza and Baku, for example, while Red Bull appears to have overcome its poor post-summer form. The RB20 might retain some of its more finicky traits on a street circuit, but the disappointment of Monza has informed its later design decisions.

Ferrari, which is looking to continue its surprise bid for the constructors' championship, is an unknown. This year's car has clearly shown great strength at street circuits and seems to deal with graining moderately well, but Charles Leclerc believes that the colder temperatures might throw the Prancing Horse an unwelcome curveball if the team is not adequately prepared. 

"We were very strong last year, so I hope we can be as strong. It is true also, and I was thinking about that earlier that this year we've done a big step in tyre management, but that means we also left something behind in cold conditions," the Monegasque mused. "Let's hope we can keep that. We can work in those two weeks to prepare it properly and to be at a good level in Las Vegas, even though it's going to be difficult for tyres.

"I think it fits our track characteristics; tyre wise, I think it might be a bit trickier for us to put those tyres in temperatures, but let's say I'm more optimistic than not, and I still believe that we can do really well in Las Vegas."

Predicting if Mercedes can play a part in a battle for a podium position is a touch more difficult, given the W15's capriciousness. It's known that the car struggles in hot weather and operates well in an incredibly narrow window, but it's simply a case of managing to reach that window from the other side of the temperature scale. But Vegas can also throw up some surprises, and any of those four teams could find themselves struggling to break out of Q2 if they don't get the formula for qualifying right.

The teams behind them must capitalise if that opportunity presents itself; Haas, RB, and Alpine have much to play for in their battle for sixth in the constructors' - and must be on hand, as Alpine was, if a big pay-day is in the offing...

Alpine scored a season-defining double podium at the recent Brazilian GP

Photo by: Alpine