F1 Las Vegas GP 2023: What is the weather forecast this weekend?

The Las Vegas GP is merely days away, and many are anticipating a race unlike any other on this year’s F1 calendar. The race weekend, itself, is a unique event in the 2023 F1 calendar, with the event taking place between Thursday and Saturday instead of the usual Friday to Sunday format.

Drivers will be taking to the street circuit late into the night so that the true bright lights of Sin City can be enjoyed by the spectators. Besides, this street circuit is bound to test both the drivers and the teams, with unusually cold conditions expected to impact the cars.

Ross Brawn, a former Formula One managing director, has admitted that the governing body had not considered the low temperatures in Las Vegas when assigning the track a spot on the calendar, as many are concerned about how the lower temperatures will impact car performance and safety on the track.

What is the weather forecast for the Las Vegas Grand Prix?

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 17: FP1 AND FP2

Conditions: Thursday will see a clear but potentially slightly windy FP1, with a chance of rain coming in towards the end of FP2.

Maximum temperature expected: 13° C

Minimum temperature expected: 8° C

Chance of rain: <20%

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18: FP3 AND QUALIFYING

Conditions: Rain is due in the early afternoon and into the evening but should clear up before the start of qualifying.

Maximum temperature expected: 13° C

Minimum temperature expected: 9° C

Chance of rain: 20%

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19: RACE

Conditions: The chance of rain significantly reduces ahead of the race, with light rain forecast until the early afternoon, which should clear before nighttime.

Maximum temperature expected: 13° C

Minimum temperature expected: 7° C

Chance of rain: 40%

How could the colder weather impact the race?

Colder track surfaces could mean that three Pirelli tyres, which are the softest available (C3, C4 & C5), take longer to warm up and require more energy from the cars to get going; this could result in them losing pressure faster and needing more pitstops during the race.

Colder tyres could also result in a lack of grip for the drivers, with lower surface temperatures leading to tyre graining, meaning they will have to fight their cars to remain on the tracks. Longer straights and only a few high-speed corners also don’t help one bit in keeping tyre and brake temperatures, resulting in many drivers going off the track or braking way before their usual braking points.

The track has also recently been resurfaced and will be open to regular Las Vegas traffic between the sessions to avoid city-wide traffic issues; however, this will prevent the surface of the track from ‘rubbering in’.

Could this be the coldest F1 race ever?

Las Vegas can get extremely cold especially at this time of the year and if the track drops below 5ºC over the weekend, it could make for the coldest race in F1 history. The slight chance of rain could also reduce track temperatures, making for an interesting race.

The coldest F1 race in history was the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix where temperatures in the air reached 5ºC in Montreal. The race was held in early October and those standing on the podium were wrapped in winter jackets as snow began to fall.

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