Everyone complains about full wets, but only Ferrari and Red Bull run in the rain | F1 Barcelona test. During the Barcelona tests, only Ferrari and Red Bull braved the wet conditions.

The second day of testing in Barcelona was far from thrilling. Apart from the rain and Isack Hadjar’s afternoon crash in the Red Bull—which reportedly required crane assistance—there wasn’t much action on track. Only Ferrari and Red Bull chose to put in mileage, while the rest, either absent or cautious, stayed on the sidelines.

Rainy conditions: a chance missed by most teams

This raised an interesting question: what could happen this year if it rains during a race weekend? In the previous regulatory era, Pirelli and the FIA faced a serious challenge. The cars generated massive spray, visibility in wet conditions was extremely poor, and the full wet tires, due to the limited in-season testing allowed for Pirelli, often didn’t perform as expected. Teams were left with only two options: either run on intermediates in light rain or keep the cars in the garage. This was the consistent FIA approach in free practice, qualifying, and races, especially throughout 2024 and 2025.

The challenge of testing full wets

One of the biggest issues for Pirelli in previous years was the lack of sufficient testing. Teams and tire engineers were forced to use artificially watered tracks to study specific setups. This comes with multiple drawbacks. First, artificially wetting a track is costly. Second, it fails to replicate real rain conditions. Tracks dry quickly under the sun, leaving little time to complete a meaningful number of laps on full wets.

Ferrari and Red Bull take advantage, others miss out

Today was a missed opportunity for most teams. With rain hitting Barcelona and likely to continue into tomorrow, this would have been the perfect chance to test the new wet tires and provide concrete feedback to Pirelli. Only Ferrari and Red Bull took advantage of this opportunity.

Waiting for dry conditions to fully evaluate a car’s potential is understandable, and the teams who kept their cars in the garage are entitled to that strategy. The 2026 cars, lacking a Venturi-style floor, are expected to produce less spray than the 2022 models, but based on photos from today’s Barcelona sessions, the reduction doesn’t appear to be significant. Those who chose not to run will likely raise safety concerns with the FIA if problems arise in wet conditions. But in reality, only Ferrari and Red Bull actively contributed data and feedback for Pirelli if the tests were to end today.

Looking ahead

Tomorrow, if the rain continues as forecasted, other teams may have a chance to redeem themselves. Testing full wet tires now is crucial, because opportunities will be limited during the two official Bahrain sessions (February 11-13 and 18-20). The chance exists, but it is far less likely.