Oscar Piastri has no concerns regarding jet lag in the Las Vegas
Grand Prix, as “driving an F1 car at 350 km/h between walls” will
keep him awake. The Las Vegas Strip Circuit hosts the 21st round of
the season as F1 arrives at the Nevada city for the first time in
over 40 years, with all of the sessions being held at least six
hours after sunset. It is effectively a race on a Japanese schedule
being held in the United States, with teams and drivers having to
adjust to the timezone differences, jet lag and body clocks being
disrupted. The situation has seen comparisons drawn to Singapore,
where the sessions are also held late in the evening but where the
paddock stays on European time, a point Piastri himself made.
‘Driving at 350 km/h keeps you awake’ “I think for me, the biggest
difference is that in Singapore, you just stay on European time,”
the McLaren driver told media including RacingNews365. “So you kind
of just give in to the jet lag you normally try and fight, whereas
here, compared to Europe we’re eight or nine hours behind, but
we’ve got to try and adjust eight or nine hours forwards. “It’s
like a double whammy. Going from here to Abu Dhabi is going to be
another interesting experience, maybe it is something they can look
into for next year.” Amid the challenge, Piastri has clarified that
he expects all drivers to be alert when the adrenaline of tackling
the circuit kicks in. “I’m sure it’ll be easier when that time
comes,” he said. “We’ll have a couple more days to get used to it.
“Driving an F1 car at 350 kph between walls usually keeps you awake
pretty well. I’m sure that’ll help. “It’s definitely put a lot of
people’s sleep schedules and jet lag management to the test, so
hopefully, it’s all right when we have to drive.”
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