Is there a Strategic advantage for Mercedes due to this trick in Las Vegas?
F1 News
According to Pirelli, the Las Vegas Grand Prix will feature one or two-stop strategies. The hard tyres are expected to be used and last a long time in the cold conditions.
The Italian tyre supplier always shows the four most plausible strategies prior to the race. For the one in Las Vegas, the one-stop seems most likely. It is possible to start on the hard or medium tyre. The other two options involve two pit stops. This involves starting on a soft or medium tyre and then completing two stints on the hard tyre.
Will Mercedes have an advantage in Las Vegas?
The teams seem to have factored in both scenarios. The top team drivers all have two sets of hard tyres left and one medium tyre. More soft tyres are left, but they are not expected to be used.
None of the teams seems to have a specific advantage over the others. The only thing that stands out are Mercedes' two used hard sets, as opposed to the competitors' fresh sets. However, these are tyres that have been used for one lap to put in a heat cycle. Mercedes hopes this allows them to build tyre temperature quicker when coming out of the pits.
This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton