Nov.9 (GMM) Formula 1 drivers have criticised Pirelli’s wet weather tyres after a difficult Brazilian GP weekend, with Lando Norris warning that rain in Las Vegas could be even more dangerous.
Isack Hadjar was particularly outspoken after qualifying at Interlagos, where several drivers struggled with aquaplaning.
“I think there’s room for improvement with the tyres, because I find it a bit dangerous,” he told Canal Plus.
After the race, the Red Bull driver explained that even the extreme wet tyres were struggling in conditions they should comfortably handle.
“I didn’t think there was a crazy amount of water on the track, and yet to me it felt like there was too much aquaplaning,” he said.
“I think there were times in qualifying yesterday where the very first three laps in Q1 were quite dangerous.”
Max Verstappen agreed that the tyres have an unusually narrow operating window.
“When they’re hot, it’s ok, but when they’re cold, they’re really like a rock,” he said.
“That’s something that we need to try and work on, to generate a bigger working range on the Extreme Wet and the Inter.”
Carlos Sainz was equally critical.
“The intermediate and rain tyres aren’t good enough,” the Williams driver and GPDA director said bluntly.
“The intermediate is very weak at the rear in mixed conditions. By the time it warms up, the front tyre is already worn out.”
Norris, meanwhile, fears the problem could become particularly serious at the next race in Las Vegas, where low temperatures already make tyre warm-up difficult.
“I think the scary times are if you go to Vegas and you can’t get any tyre temperature,” said the McLaren driver.
“You need a much better tyre than what we have here because that’s going to be horrible.”
Pirelli, however, offered a more positive assessment of its Brazilian GP performance.
“Overall, both the Intermediate and the Soft performed in line with expectations, offering teams several strategic options in a race defined by uncertainty over the conditions,” motorsport director Dario Marrafuschi said.