F1 tech: Could Red Bull’s ‘wrong’ rear wing delay Max Verstappen’s title celebrations?

Uros Radovanovic
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F1 tech analysis from the Las Vegas GP.

Who will leave the Las Vegas Grand Prix with a smile on their faces this weekend?

The Formula 1 season is gradually drawing to a close – the next stop is Las Vegas, which kicks off a series of three consecutive races, marking the final events of the season.

Although many were sceptical, it’s fair to say that Las Vegas delivered an exciting and thrilling weekend last year. This highly unique circuit is almost a blend of Monza’s characteristics and chilly weather. Add to that the fact it’s a street track, and it becomes undeniably distinctive.

F1 tech analysis: What will the teams face at the Las Vegas Grand Prix?

From a technical perspective, this uniqueness makes it particularly challenging and demands special attention from engineers. Let’s take a closer look at the challenges ahead for the Formula 1 teams and who might perform best here.

Track characteristics

This will be the fourth time Formula 1 has raced in Las Vegas – after two events in the early 1980s, the city made its return last year as a host of the fastest competition in the world. The current circuit is 6.201 kilometres long, making it the second longest on the calendar after Spa-Francorchamps. It features 17 corners, and Sunday’s race will consist of 50 laps.

The most notable section of the track is the long straight between Turns 12 and 14, where cars can reach speeds of up to 350km/h [217mph] before encountering a heavy braking zone. This is also a DRS zone, which proved last year to be the best overtaking opportunity.

However, as Las Vegas is a night race, track temperatures will hover around 10°C, which is exceptionally low compared to most other venues. This could pose significant challenges, both in qualifying and during the race itself. Specifically, reaching optimal tyre temperatures (especially the fronts) during qualifying will be difficult and will heavily impact car performance. During the main race, tyres are likely to cool rapidly on the long straight, potentially causing issues under braking.

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Failure to maintain adequate tyre temperatures can result in cold tearing, where small pieces of rubber shear off the tyre due to low temperatures – something teams will undoubtedly want to avoid.

For these reasons, Sunday’s race is highly likely to feature two pit stops. However, a one-stop strategy remains a viable option, with some teams potentially opting to stay out longer – which, on paper, currently appears to be the better choice.

Pirelli has, as it did last year, chosen the softest compounds for this street race: C3 as the hard, C4 as the medium, and C5 as the softest option. Helping teams prepare for the weekend are three practice sessions, two of which having taken place on Thursday. Additionally, data gathered from last year will undoubtedly aid in strategy formulation.

Aerodynamic packages for Las Vegas GP

When it comes to aerodynamic packages, we can expect setups similar to those used in Monza. The long straights demand a focus on maximum speed, leading engineers to aim for minimal drag on the cars.

Lower downforce will undoubtedly make tyre warming, already difficult due to ambient conditions, even more challenging. It will also impact braking stability. Finding the optimal trade-off between downforce and stability is crucial this weekend.

As seen in the image above, teams are already approaching the aerodynamic setup differently.

Ferrari has opted for a low-downforce configuration with a nearly flat main plane. It’s already evident that Ferrari will be extremely fast on the straights, particularly with the DRS system engaged.

Red Bull and McLaren, on the other hand, have gone with medium-load aerodynamic packages. This is a familiar choice for them this season, but the difference between these setups and Ferrari’s seems particularly pronounced in Las Vegas. These setups offer better braking and cornering grip, as well as improved tyre warm-up. However, the trade-off is reduced straight-line speed, making it intriguing to see which strategy will prove more effective.

Focusing on Red Bull’s rear wing, you can observe cuts on the upper edge to reduce drag. It appears the Austrian team opted not to design a completely new rear wing for Las Vegas (likely due to budgetary constraints) but instead modified an existing one.

After Thursday night’s practice, Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko admits they may have brought the wrong wing to Las Vegas.

“We don’t have another rear wing, a smaller rear wing, as we see it on our competitors. It would be more helpful, for sure,” he told Autosport.

Asked if there was time to fly in a new wing, he simply said: “No.”

At the extremes are Alpine and Williams, whose approaches to the weekend stand in stark contrast to those of Red Bull and McLaren.

Which teams will excel on this track?

Among the frontrunners, Ferrari and McLaren emerge as the main contenders for the top step of the podium. The Italian team is in superb form (Brazil’s wet conditions aside) and their car seems well-suited to the Las Vegas circuit.

Ferrari’s top speed has been excellent all season, with their only concern being tyre management and warm-up. If they can resolve this issue, we can expect the red cars to fight for victory.

Let’s not forget Max Verstappen, who, after a stunning drive in Brazil, has the chance to officially become a four-time Formula 1 champion this weekend. While the RB20 isn’t ideally suited to tracks like this, past races have shown that Red Bull should never be written off.

But after two free practice sessions, the Mercedes drivers stood out with the fastest times. It’s true that Mercedes hasn’t been in the best form over the past few races – especially in Brazil, where Hamilton was visibly dissatisfied with the W15’s performance on the track.

What’s certain is that we’re in for a very exciting weekend. It’s up to the teams to gather more valuable data during the next free practice session, after which they’ll reveal their true form on Saturday.

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