PACE ANALYSIS: Ferrari and Alpine with impressive aerodynamic efficiency at Las Vegas

Mercedes dominated proceedings in qualifying at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but Ferrari have been hot on their heels all through the one-hour session. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo delivers his pace analysis after the nail-biting qualifying session.

Having dominated the practice sessions with his team-mate Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes driver George Russell was quickest come the end of a very exciting session, especially the last few laps of Q3: in the space of 42 seconds, the number one spot which Russell had secured on his first run, changed hands three times before coming back to its initial owner.

The balance between the teams has been very close throughout this 2024 season and there was further confirmation of that tonight, with the three quickest drivers coming from three different teams: behind Russell in the Mercedes (1’32”312) comes the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz (1’32”410), followed by Pierre Gasly in the Alpine (1’32”664).

Seven teams were represented in the final phase of qualifying, the absentees being Sauber, Williams and Aston Martin, although the first two of those did at least get one driver into Q2.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix is the third round this year to be held in the United States, following on from Miami and Austin. After the 7.004 kilometre-long Spa-Francorchamps circuit, the Nevadan track is the second longest on the calendar at 6.201 kilometres.

It features 17 corners, tackled over 50 times in the race. It is a high speed venue, with three straights and top speeds that hit 350 km/h last year, with several overtaking opportunities, especially at turn 14.

The lack of high-speed corners and the dominance of low-speed turns and long full-throttle sections have prompted teams to bring low-downforce aerodynamic package to Nevada. There are quite big differences between the rear wing choices of the various teams.

While Ferrari are running the lowest downforce level among the top teams, Red Bull is restricted to a medium-downforce rear wing that the Austro-British outfit has adjusted to the requirements of the Las Vegas track by trimming the upper flap of the wing just as they did in Monza.

The diagram provided by Formula Data Analysis shows that Mercedes, who have dominated proceedings from the get-go in Nevada, are running a higher rear wing configuration. Despite enduring a slight loss down the full-throttle sections, their downforce level is unmatched through the first sector, especially in the medium-speed Turn 3.

By contrast, Ferrari and Alpine, which have delivered the second and third-quickest lap respectively, elected to use a very different downforce configuration. Both teams registered a top speed of 354kph, but they have still achieved impressive downforce through the medium-speed turns and in the braking zones, with their cars proving aerodynamically very efficient.

Interestingly, McLaren, RB and Haas were pretty much matched in terms of one-lap pace in qualifying, with only a slight difference between the British, the Italian and the American outfit.

McLaren elected to run a spoon-shaped rear wing which is significantly draggier than what Ferrari opted to use for the Las Vegas round. By contrast, RB are slightly quicker down the straights while Haas have recorded a top speed that was one kph higher than what the Faenza-based outfit recorded.

On the back of a series of very difficult races, Sauber presented itself in a more encouraging fashion, with Zhou Guanyu making it out of Q2. The Hinwil-based outfit opted for an average top speed that sits between what Mercedes and Ferrari targeted to achieve.

Williams and Aston Martin have proved the slowest in qualifying, with both teams opting for a relatively low-downforce rear wing and high top speed, albeit they struggled for one-lap pace throughout the qualifying.