Following the use of the Extreme full wet tyres during the Sao Paulo GP weekend, several F1 drivers voiced their opinions on the Pirelli tyres, but the verdict came back ambivalent.
After having endured its first major wet weather weekend in Sao Paulo where the conditions required the use of Extreme full wet tyres, F1 drivers expressed their opinion on racing in the wet with the Pirelli tyres. While F1 drivers opt for Intermediate tyres more often, full wets were necessary as conditions in Brazil went from bad to treacherous.
Downpour in both the Bahrain GP in Malaysia and the Singapore Sprint day came with technical issues for the 2026 cars which proved to be a bigger test than the Pirelli tyres themselves. The quick drying track also allowed for the use of Intermediate tyres rather than Extreme full wet tyres. This time around, no such luxury was offered, and the full wets had to be used.
The rain was already pouring ahead of the Sao Paulo GP, causing the race to be delayed. After a bit of a delay, the drivers were ready to take on Interlagos in the wet.
Wet weather tyres still ‘not good enough’
Speaking on the use of the wet weather conditions Pirelli tyres after the Sao Paulo weekend, the F1 drivers found that racing in the wet remained tricky with the current tyres.
“It has been substantially better than we all anticipated,” George Russell told media.
“I think it is also important to realise that the three tracks we’ve driven on have been very rough tarmac, and Malaysia and the Singapore Sprint were still hot, even in the rain. In [Sao Paulo qualifying], even though it was raining, the track was 30 degrees, but maybe, in the 15 degrees of Spa, we’re giving different feedback.”
Despite Russell’s positive view on the tyres, Williams’ Carlos Sainz disagreed with his verdict. The Spaniard found there to still be development “missing” on the tyres and urged Pirelli to improve the design.
“Not good enough,” Sainz began when asked for his opinion on the Wet and the Intermediate tyres.
“I think the level of the inter and the wet tyre is not good enough, and we need to work with Pirelli on finding a better tyre, because in the mixed conditions, the inter is still a very weak tyre at the rear.
“By the time it warms up, the front is gone, and for the extreme wets, [in qualifying] we had much aquaplaning and a big lack of rear grip. So it is still missing a bit of development on these two tyres.”
‘We do need to make a better wet tyre‘
For a long time, F1 and Pirelli have struggled to find a suitable tyre design for wet-weather conditions. It got to the point where it was easier to wait for the heavy rain to stop completely than to go out on full wets because of the poor design.
Finding a design that allows wet-weather racing while prioritising safety remains a tricky area of development. Still, the current tyres are unfortunately not deemed good enough to meet the drivers’ standards. Sainz’s Williams teammate Alex Albon agreed with his assessment of the tyres.
“I think the inter and the wet tyre isn’t working very well at the moment,” Albon said, “I don’t think it is the cars; it is the tyres, and we need to figure it out because the laps to the grid [prior to the São Paulo GP] were insane, really insane.
“I couldn’t believe how little grip there was, and then the wet tyre overheats immediately, so we do need to make a better wet tyre for next year.
“What we’ve done with the power reduction and all that kind of stuff, we kind of need at the minute, and maybe if we had grippier inter and wet tyres, we’d be able to run at 350kw, but it is sketchy. It is difficult to fire the tyres up, but they also wear quite quickly, so even when they are cold, they’re wearing.
“It feels like they never overheat or get up to temperature, and then by the time you are circulating, the tread is already coming off the tyre, and then you’re struggling.
“You’re sliding around, so you never feel good at any point, and feel that we can come to life.”
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