Formula 1’s wet-weather tyre problems have returned to the spotlight following the 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix, with Carlos Sainz calling on Pirelli to improve its Intermediate and Full Wet compounds. After a weekend of highly changeable conditions at Interlagos, the Williams driver criticised the lack of grip and excessive aquaplaning experienced in the rain. However, the difficulties facing Formula 1 extend beyond tyre performance, with spray and poor visibility remaining fundamental obstacles to safe wet-weather racing.
The Brazilian Grand Prix exposed a familiar weakness that Formula 1 has struggled to address for several years. While better tyres could help drivers maintain control in changing conditions, the aerodynamic characteristics of modern cars create additional problems that even Pirelli cannot resolve through tyre development alone.
Carlos Sainz criticises Pirelli’s wet-weather tyres after Brazilian GP
Carlos Sainz, who finished 19th at Interlagos, was particularly critical of the performance of Pirelli’s rain tyres when speaking after the race. The Williams driver believes both the Intermediate and Full Wet compounds require further development, especially when drivers encounter conditions where the track is neither completely wet nor fully dry.
“I don’t think the level of the wet tyres and intermediates is good enough. We need to work with Pirelli to find better tyres, because in mixed conditions the intermediates continue to offer very little rear grip,” Carlos Sainz explained.
The Spaniard identified tyre temperature management as one of the main difficulties. According to his assessment, the intermediates take too long to reach their ideal operating temperature, creating a compromise between generating sufficient rear grip and protecting the front tyres from excessive wear.
“By the time you finally get the tyre up to temperature, the front tyre is already finished. And with the Full Wets, honestly, we had a huge amount of sliding and a serious lack of rear grip. Both compounds still need development.”
The problem illustrates how difficult it can be to manage wet-weather tyres when track conditions change continuously. Drivers need sufficient temperature to generate grip, but the process of reaching that operating window can place additional stress on the tyres.
These challenges also affect the strategic choices available to teams, particularly when deciding whether to remain on Intermediates or switch to another compound as conditions evolve. The different tyre choices and stint lengths can be explored through the Formula 1 tyre and stint analysis.
Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar highlight grip and aquaplaning problems
Carlos Sainz was not the only driver to express concerns about wet-weather tyre performance following the Brazilian Grand Prix.
During the official FIA press conference, Max Verstappen drew attention to the narrow operating temperature window of the tyres, explaining that their performance changes significantly depending on whether they have reached the necessary temperature.
“When they’re warm, they’re fine, but when they’re cold, they really are like rocks,” Max Verstappen explained.
His comments reinforced the difficulties described by Carlos Sainz, particularly the challenge of maintaining consistent grip when temperatures fluctuate during wet-weather running.
Isack Hadjar also raised concerns, focusing specifically on aquaplaning. The French driver highlighted how the cars were experiencing an excessive amount of aquaplaning relative to the quantity of water present on the circuit.
Together, the observations point towards several connected problems: limited grip when the tyres are cold, difficulties managing their operating temperatures and an insufficient ability to cope with standing water under certain conditions.
Pirelli defends its Intermediate tyres after the Brazilian Grand Prix
Despite the criticism from drivers, Pirelli offered a different assessment of its wet-weather performance at Interlagos.
In the manufacturer’s official post-race analysis, motorsport director Dario Marrafuschi maintained that the Intermediate tyres had performed in line with expectations.
According to Dario Marrafuschi, the compound allowed teams to consider several different strategic possibilities throughout the Grand Prix, despite the variable weather conditions.
The contrasting assessments highlight the difference between the manufacturer’s evaluation of a tyre’s overall performance and the experience of drivers attempting to extract grip in difficult conditions.
Tyre behaviour has once again become an increasingly prominent subject of discussion over recent Grands Prix. In particular, the narrow operating window of the compounds has attracted renewed attention after receiving relatively little scrutiny during the opening part of the 2026 season.
Earlier in the championship, the difficulties associated with Formula 1’s new power units had dominated much of the technical debate, overshadowing some of the challenges surrounding tyre performance.
As the season has progressed, however, the importance of maintaining the tyres within their optimal operating range has become increasingly apparent. The issue has also featured in Ferrari’s recent technical difficulties, including the team’s tyre-pressure decisions at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Why better Pirelli wet tyres cannot solve Formula 1’s visibility problem
Although Pirelli has the experience and technical expertise to improve its wet-weather compounds, tyre development alone cannot eliminate every problem associated with racing in the rain.
One of the most significant limitations concerns the spray generated by Formula 1 cars when travelling through standing water.
The basic relationship creates a difficult technical compromise. The more water a tyre removes from the track through its tread, the greater the quantity of spray thrown into the air behind the car.
This effect is amplified by the aerodynamic characteristics of modern Formula 1 machinery. The diffuser and the airflow generated beneath the floor contribute to lifting and dispersing water, creating a dense cloud of spray behind the car.
Consequently, even a tyre capable of delivering significantly improved grip in wet conditions would not necessarily make racing safer or more practical when visibility is severely restricted.
The distinction is important because grip and visibility are separate challenges. Drivers may be able to maintain control of their cars on a wet surface, but following another competitor becomes considerably more difficult when the spray prevents them from seeing the track ahead.
Improving the compounds, increasing their usable temperature range and addressing aquaplaning would therefore represent only part of the solution.
FIA spray-guard experiments expose the limits of current F1 cars
The FIA has already investigated potential solutions to the visibility problem through experiments involving wheel spray guards.
However, those trials have demonstrated how difficult it is to develop a system capable of reducing spray effectively enough to make a meaningful difference in heavy rain.
The difficulty lies partly in the interaction between the tyres and the car’s aerodynamics. Preventing water from being thrown directly upwards by the wheels does not automatically eliminate the spray generated and dispersed by the airflow beneath the car.
As a result, Formula 1 continues to face two distinct challenges when racing in wet conditions: providing drivers with tyres capable of delivering sufficient grip and ensuring that they can see clearly enough to race safely.
Pirelli can continue developing its wet-weather compounds and attempt to provide a broader operating window, but resolving the visibility problem would require more substantial technical intervention.
Without deeper changes to the characteristics of the cars, the difficulties experienced during the Brazilian Grand Prix are likely to remain a recurring concern.
The consequence is that wet-weather Formula 1 could continue to be shaped as much by decisions made inside team garages as by battles on the circuit itself. Until both grip and visibility are addressed, improvements to Pirelli’s Intermediate and Full Wet tyres may help drivers manage difficult conditions without fully resolving the championship’s wider rain problem.
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