Official 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix Thread ***SPOILERS***

[ajprice]

Red and white Ferraris, not just the white wing

[stevilo]

Thanks PiaP. I'm another who always uses your info for watching F1. Hope you have a speedy recovery.

The straight in the simulation looks ridiculously long, but apparently a bit shorter than Azerbaijan - 1.9km vs 2.2km. But given the low temperatures will tyre temperatures be a massive issue? Particularly in qualifying?

[Sandpit Steve]

tertius said:

vaud said:

tertius said:

Is this the first time a GP has been scheduled for a Saturday?

no

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/saturday-f1-rac...

Interesting, so not the first by a long chalk, but the first for 38 years ...

We’re also going to have two Saturday races to start next season, in Bahrain and Saudi. This is being done to avoid Ramadan in Saudi, where the local rules make it impossible for F1 to be there.

[Derek Smith]

Thanks, PiaP.

Sorry to hear of your accident. How long are you going to be laid up?

Best wishes.

[Piginapoke]

Derek Smith said:

Thanks, PiaP.

Sorry to hear of your accident. How long are you going to be laid up?

Best wishes.

Thanks Derek and all for the good wishes. My left arm is full of stitches after a gravel bike fall and I’ve picked up an infection which won’t shift. Hopefully I’ll be up and about by next week.

[Deesee]

Piginapoke said:

Derek Smith said:

Thanks, PiaP.

Sorry to hear of your accident. How long are you going to be laid up?

Best wishes.

Thanks Derek and all for the good wishes. My left arm is full of stitches after a gravel bike fall and I’ve picked up an infection which won’t shift. Hopefully I’ll be up and about by next week.

Blimey, get well soon PiaP, can some one grab you some oxygenated water to treat the wound daily?

[sideways man]

Long time F1 lurker here… best wishes and good health PIAP.

[TikTak]

Thanks PiaP. Loving the addition of the actual pig haha.

This race seems like a disaster on the surface but with all these unknowns (time, track, temperature) who knows what is going to happen.

I'm going to go for Hamilton.

The straights might screw up this prediction but the AMR23 did have some top end so think it was more setup on the Merc's. The fact they lunch their tyres might help in the cool air to generate some temperature which the cars that are lighter on them may not do as well.

[rdjohn]

Get well soon PiaP.

Missed that Max had returned at the top of the list before voting for Sainz. I suspect that it could be something of a lottery qualifying on ice cold tyres.

Glad that its not a Sprint so teams will have a bit of set-up time.

[PhilAsia]

Dunno where to send the grapes PiaP. Swift recovery!!

[Piginapoke]

PhilAsia said:

Dunno where to send the grapes PiaP. Swift recovery!!

Thanks Phil- it’s not the week I was expecting….

F1 Pod had a good discussion with Bernie Collins about tyre temps in Las Vegas: https://x.com/brrrake/status/1722529610829619426?s...

[PhilAsia]

Piginapoke said:

PhilAsia said:

Dunno where to send the grapes PiaP. Swift recovery!!

Thanks Phil- it’s not the week I was expecting….

F1 Pod had a good discussion with Bernie Collins about tyre temps in Las Vegas: https://x.com/brrrake/status/1722529610829619426?s...

First drift race of the season ? It is actually starting to sound very watchable...

[TheDeuce]

I came to this thread expecting a load of complaining about this GP weekend 'because Vegas' and I haven't been disappointed


I'm going to buck the trend however. I'm looking forward to it as a spectacle. I accept that it's unlikely to prove a great circuit but I think there is mileage in marrying Vegas to F1 to create a great and fun spectacle.

Vegas itself stands for most things I dislike/avoid in life... But as a playground for those things to exist, it's fun. I've been three times and the whole place is basically a perfectly executed playground of guilty pleasures. Should such a place have F1 cars blatting down the strip at 200mph once a year? Why not. Should F1 have races at circuits that are a bit daft (Monaco..), yes imo. There's no reason a few races each year can't be more about the sport arriving in town as a spectacle than they are about serious and sensible sporting focus.

I'll be tuning in at 6am with a beer

[vaud]

I'm open minded. My one fear is a tyre debacle where they are forced to not run or have to force x tyre changes.

[Deesee]

Chance of Rain on Friday and the Saturday (KIV Quali and the Race are both on Saturday).. Stroll pole here we come.

[TheDeuce]

vaud said:

I'm open minded. My one fear is a tyre debacle where they are forced to not run or have to force x tyre changes.

Bring it on - I'm OK with a load of tyre drama here, given that I'm not taking this GP weekend particularly seriously in general

I always look forward to maiden GP's as they usually through up some issues and dramas. In my ideal world F1 would just tour Europe and each circuit would be great for racing... But failing that being possible, I'm happy to pass the time tuning in watching F1 go somewhere daft and ambitious and trip over it's shoelaces on arrival..

[vaud]

TheDeuce said:

Bring it on - I'm OK with a load of tyre drama here, given that I'm not taking this GP weekend particularly seriously in general

I always look forward to maiden GP's as they usually through up some issues and dramas. In my ideal world F1 would just tour Europe and each circuit would be great for racing... But failing that being possible, I'm happy to pass the time tuning in watching F1 go somewhere daft and ambitious and trip over it's shoelaces on arrival..

I mean tyre drama like USA 2005. That would be very hard to explain to the audience.

[talksthetorque]

vaud said:

TheDeuce said:

Bring it on - I'm OK with a load of tyre drama here, given that I'm not taking this GP weekend particularly seriously in general

I always look forward to maiden GP's as they usually through up some issues and dramas. In my ideal world F1 would just tour Europe and each circuit would be great for racing... But failing that being possible, I'm happy to pass the time tuning in watching F1 go somewhere daft and ambitious and trip over it's shoelaces on arrival..

I mean tyre drama like USA 2005. That would be very hard to explain to the audience.

I doubt that would happen as Pirelli have set a precedent already about enforcing tyre changes due to circuit design in a race.

[TheDeuce]

talksthetorque said:

vaud said:

TheDeuce said:

Bring it on - I'm OK with a load of tyre drama here, given that I'm not taking this GP weekend particularly seriously in general

I always look forward to maiden GP's as they usually through up some issues and dramas. In my ideal world F1 would just tour Europe and each circuit would be great for racing... But failing that being possible, I'm happy to pass the time tuning in watching F1 go somewhere daft and ambitious and trip over it's shoelaces on arrival..

I mean tyre drama like USA 2005. That would be very hard to explain to the audience.

I doubt that would happen as Pirelli have set a precedent already about enforcing tyre changes due to circuit design in a race.

Yea I can't see a repeat of USA 2005 happening, that was very unique and the sport would navigate around it now anyway, one way or another.

It is likely there will be some sort of tyre issues and an 11th hour change to circuit/tyres/usage rules/track limits so solve them. They're going to be racing on a variety of tarmac surfaces so no one will know the true nature of this circuit re tyre wear until they get going.

[Sandpit Steve]

Piginapoke said:

Thanks Derek and all for the good wishes. My left arm is full of stitches after a gravel bike fall and I’ve picked up an infection which won’t shift. Hopefully I’ll be up and about by next week.

Ouch! Get well soon matey.