Parc Ferme: Elvis spotted in the Pit Area?

It seems that every effort has been made to migrate the old essence of F1 out of the front door while ushering the new through the back. Kerbs will represent card suites; the paddock has been renamed the Pit Area. Why? Maybe the Sports Car Club of America will soon replace the FIA as F1’s Governing body.

The Las Vegas GP has been a hard sell for FOM. Convincing the Hotels and various city stakeholders that the disruption this time out will come up three sevens. Unfortunately, Liberty doesn’t seem to believe its product can deliver this on its own. The solution, then, has been to hike the cost of the tickets and bolt on a dog and pony show to suck in the punters. It's starting to look like the Grand Prix race is becoming a sideshow and not the main event.

However, for race fans there is some good news in prospect. Nobody knows the track. This means, in true casino terms, the qualifying and the race are, to some degree, a game of chance. Add in the cold temperatures with an undulating track surface, and there could be some surprises in the starting order.

Racing for the first time on a new circuit is always a challenge, even more so when it’s created from public roads. Las Vegas will have minimal elevation and walls at the edge, making the corners predominantly blind. Drivers with the talent to learn a track quickly and, more importantly memorize it, should have a distinct advantage. My money is on the sim racers.

I can only imagine the start of the Las Vegas GP will either be a destruction derby at Turn 1 or totally without incident. With the anticipated low temperatures, starting on softs will be akin to Hards. Something the whole grid will be faced with; and a potential mess if drivers do not show some restraint at the first corner and the early laps.

The close proximity of the walls and the anticipated high speeds should also produce at least one restart and multiple safety cars. Clearing debris on a street circuit is hard work and we can anticipate some high-speed impacts of the back of the long straights generously spreading the debris around.

We know the RB19 will work well here; it’s aero-efficient and extremely good in the low-speed corners. However, the car that could deliver a real surprise is the FW45 in the talented hands of Alex Albon. Williams fields the fastest aero car in a straight line. Consequently, the multiple long straights should mean it performs well. Maybe, just maybe, they can pull a podium out of the bag. My money is on Blue and Elvis presenting the trophies.