Mercedes’ George Russell is concerned that the Las Vegas’ street circuit may not produce the close racing that its designers had in mind.
On paper, the City of Lights’ 6.12 km layout, which many have compared to Baku in Azerbaijan, looks quick but it also looks very basic compared to the average traditional F1 circuit.
The track features 17 corners and three long straights, all of which lead to big braking zones which should provide good overtaking opportunities, something conducive to good racing.
But the jury, including Russell, is still out on that assumption. The Mercedes driver understands what the race’s promoters – meaning Formula 1 – were thinking when they whipped the venue’s layout.
However, he fears that, in practice, the end result might fall well short of expectations.
“For the 20 drivers it’s not going to be the most enjoyable circuit we’ve driven in the whole season,” Russell said.
“But this is a sport that millions and millions of people tune in every single week to watch and probably the majority of people understands what a great race is and overtaking and battles.
“But only probably the diehard fans can really appreciate the greatness of a circuit like Silverstone or Suzuka or Monaco. So times are definitely changing and I think we just have to embrace it, really.”
F1 teams are set to rely on their minimum downforce aero packages this weekend, a configuration that typically mitigates the effect of DRS. And this would only further reduce overtaking opportunities.
“It’s definitely not going to be an iconic circuit in terms of its layout,” Russell added. “I think it’s been designed to try to enhance racing. [But] I’m not too sure how good the race is going to be.
“Of course there’s big, long straights, but because we’re all on minimum downforce the slipstream effect won’t be that great.
“The DRS I think is worth about one tenth per straight. When you compare that to someone like Barcelona, it’s worth six tenths on the straight.
“So it may not actually be as straightforward as one may think to race.”
Russell’s Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton hopes that the track’s similarities to Baku will lead to a good show come race day.
“From a racer’s perspective, you want to have the best show,” he said. “If the race track provides races like, for example, Baku – which is in terms of racing is one of the best races, lots of overtaking – that would be amazing. Rather than just one car disappearing and cars [are] not overtaking, for example.”
©Mercedes
But after Mercedes’ dismal weekend in Brazil, where depressing top speed and high tyre degradation led to one of the worst weekends in the team’s history, Hamilton appeared more interested in his car’s prospects than in the track's ability to produce an exciting show.
Asked how confident he felt about Mercedes’ prospects in Las Vegas, Hamilton answered: “Definitely more than the last one.
“Still, I think it’s going to be a challenge and getting the tyres working this weekend and we’re often not necessarily the quickest on the straights, so that’ll be a challenge to see if we cannot lose too much on the straights but keep up with everyone in the corners.
“But it’s not the most technical of circuits. So hopefully, that makes it a little bit easier.”
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