Fernando Alonso has stated that the low temperature present at the
Las Vegas Grand Prix is resulting in “random” grip through the
circuit’s braking zones. Although track temperature wasn’t as low
as some feared ahead of the weekend, track temperatures hovered
around 15 degrees Celcius during the second practice session of the
weekend. It marked the only meaningful running of the day as FP1
was abandoned when a loose drain cover damaged Carlos Sainz’s
Ferrari, resulting in a full track inspection. When the cars
returned to the track at 02:30 local time, several drivers
including Alonso were spotted locking up and driving into the
run-off areas. “It is an interesting circuit for sure with a lot of
different corners and these long straights, which at night make the
tyres lose temperature a little bit, so the braking zones are
interesting and a little bit random with the grip you will get,”
Alonso said. “It’s interesting, the race is going to be fun with
lot of opportunities as well. Let’s see if we can optimise things.”
While Alonso is expecting drivers to have tyre temperatures under
control during qualifying, he stated it could be trickier in race
conditions if there’s a Safety Car intervention. “It should be not
too bad, I think qualifying eventually you put the temperature in
the tyre,” said Alonso. “There could be a bit more adrenaline if
there is a Safety Car or things like that when the tyres can lose
temperature, then it will be more tricky. But it’s the same for
everybody and we should be ready.” Alonso confident over pace
Alonso enjoyed a strong FP2 session for Aston Martin, ending the
session in third place behind the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc
and Carlos Sainz. After securing a podium last time out in Brazil,
Alonso is hopeful that the Silverstone-based squad can continue its
momentum in Las Vegas – but pointed to the close nature of the
field around him. “We had a decent first day,” he reflected. “I
think we still need to optimise a few things in the car as every
else does. “Let’s see with the full potential, we have a couple of
tenths in the pocket for sure, but everybody does. “It’s going to
be very tight. We saw today, within two tenths there are 10 cars.
You need to optimise everything in qualifying.”
Source: Read More