Ferrari struggling for tyre temperature on ‘Turkey 2020’ low-grip Las Vegas

Ferrari’s Formula 1 drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc noted struggles with getting their tyres up to temperature in Las Vegas, as the Spaniard compared the conditions to Turkey’s wet race in 2020.

Having focused more on race performance with the design of its 2024 car, as its previous models tended to overheat their tyres on longer runs and could not capitalise on generally impressive qualifying results, Ferrari has found one-lap pace harder to come by this season.

This has been exposed more on Las Vegas’ layout, where a smooth track with few medium/high-speed corners has resulted in the SF-24 lacking the snap heat generation of its forebears.

Sainz noted that the circuit improved greatly during FP1 after the “Turkey 2020” opening laps of the session – a race in which drivers were rewarded with staying out on used intermediates rather than switching to slicks on the drying Istanbul circuit.

He added that the drop in temperature for the later FP2 session, where track temperatures fell from 17C to 14C, changed the complexion of the Thursday practice sessions and reckoned having the tyres ready for a qualifying lap on Friday would be on a knife-edge.

“Those first laps in FP1 were the lowest grip I think since Turkey 2020, where we had those crazy low grip conditions. Through the day the track ramped up and picked up some grip,” Sainz explained.

“But with that also, the temperature came down as we got more into the night and then everything seemed a bit more complicated. I think everyone’s in the same boat; it’s a very fine line between having the tyres ready, and not ready in sector one.

“And from then on, it can snowball into a very good lap or a very bad lap. So yeah, it is a different track.

“I think we’re in the mix. Mercedes has been very strong all day, Lando and McLaren also. Maybe we are not performing as strong as everyone was thinking we were going to perform.

“We have some homework tonight to maybe try and find some lap time, especially coming from qualifying. The race, we seem to be okay once everything gets up to temperature, but over one lap, we seem to still have some work to do.”

Leclerc felt that Ferrari’s performance on Thursday was expected and that the team wanted to find a solution for Friday’s qualifying session where it could enjoy “the best of both worlds” without compromising on promising race pace.

Ferrari was outperformed by Mercedes and McLaren in one-lap pace in FP2, but barely shadowed McLaren in the longer runs.

“We expected it to happen, as we are struggling a little bit to put the tyres in temperature. I think Mercedes looks very, very strong. They’ve been a bit more aggressive on tyres all year long.

“They are very strong for now. So we’ve got to try and find something to try and turn the situation around – but we’re not so far.

“All in all, I think we are very strong in race pace, a bit less strong in quali. It’s been a bit the story of our season, but it’s better that way than, than the opposite.

“I just hope that overtaking will be as easy as last year. If it is, it’s better to be in our position. But we are still trying to have the best of both worlds, and improve on qualifying because for now we are a bit far, but I’m confident we can be stronger tomorrow.”

Photos from Las Vegas GP Practice