Fernando Alonso has criticized Pirelli, saying that Formula 1 does not have the right tyres for wet conditions.
At the Brazilian Grand Prix in Interlagos, the wet weather made it difficult for drivers to maintain grip, and Alonso pointed out that the tyres provided were not up to standard.
Fernando Alonso hits out at Pirelli tyre quality
Since 2011, Pirelli has been the exclusive supplier of tyres for F1, but the full wet tyres are being used less frequently. While this is partly due to the FIA’s concerns about safety and the risk of crashes, Alonso also believes the tyres are simply not good enough for what he considers the “top class” level of the sport.
“It wasn’t ideal conditions, but we also don’t have the [right] tyres for the top class category of the sport,” Alonso told DAZN.
“When it rains a little bit we always have aquaplaning, there are always accidents…. I think Franco [Colapinto] even behind the safety car… sometimes you can’t even follow the safety car. We have to improve that.”
Brazil was a tough race for Alonso, as he has not finished in the top 10 since Singapore. Towards the end of the race, he told his team over the radio that he was only continuing to race to show respect for the mechanics.
“We had a better car in qualifying and then we had to change parts of the car and go to other components with less performance,” Alonso said.
“In the race we were already going bad again with different floors and other parts that we had already discovered worked worse, but we didn’t have any good spares. We were less fast in the race.”
“We also had problems with the brakes. Lance [Stroll] had it in the formation lap and I had it in all the restarts behind the safety car.”
“All the braking was going to the rear of the car and it was like pulling a handbrake.”
“The car in the second part of the race had a lot of porpoising. Under normal conditions I wouldn’t have finished the race.”
“But I had to do it for the mechanics, for me too because I suffered a bit before I got here, for the people in Valencia who are in much worse situations than the rebound I suffered.”
Alonso’s comments followed an earlier moment at the Brazilian Grand Prix when Lewis Hamilton confronted F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali during a live interview, pressing him about the poor quality of the wet tyres, which had caused qualifying to be delayed and not run in its usual Saturday time slot.
