Pirelli Surprisingly Agrees With F1 Drivers’ Criticism Over ‘Useless’ Wet Tyre

Posted on August 1, 2023 | by Charley Williams Well, we weren’t expecting that. When many of the Formula 1 drivers expressed their dismay at the ‘pointless’ wet tyre after Sprint Saturday at the Belgian GP, we thought Pirelli may have come back with some kind of defence. But no, they agree. The tyre is useless.  A late downpour moments before the 2023 Belgian GP Sprint meant the start of the race was delayed, and when we did finally get going, the safety car led the grid for a total of five formation laps ahead of a rolling start. Something that no F1 fan wants to see – but it is needed to help clear standing water to aid visibility, which has been a huge talking point lately, particularly at a circuit like Spa. Though all cars started off on the full wets, within two laps of the race, all cars had boxed to fit the intermediate tyre once the track had begun to dry. Fans questioned why the blue-walled wet tyres exist, with even George Russell calling them out as “pointless.” And Pirelli’s head of motorsport, Mario Isola, surprisingly agreed. He was quoted by Autosport as saying: “I believe that we have to, first of all, divide two problems: one is the performance of the wet, one is the visibility. “Performance-wise, when we were developing the tyres, we found a result in terms of performance that was much, much better than the old wet tyre. He continued: “Are they safety car tyres? We discuss many times about visibility. It is an issue, and clearly, the FIA, together with the teams, are working around some devices that can improve visibility in order to reduce the spray that is coming from the tyres and the diffuser. “But if the full wet tyre is used only behind the safety car, I agree with drivers that, at the moment, it is a useless tyre. “So we have to decide which is the direction new want to take for the future in order to develop the product that is needed for Formula 1.” Well, we’re glad everyone is on the same page!