Carlos Sainz insists Pirelli still has considerable work to do on its intermediate tyre which once again exposed its limitations in last weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos.
The Williams driver was particularly unimpressed by the performance of the green-walled compound, which all 20 drivers selected for the start of the race.
While the changeable conditions provided plenty of action, Sainz believes the tyre remains a fundamentally “weak” proposition, especially when it comes to delivering consistent grip across both axles.
His criticism also extended to Pirelli’s full wet tyre, suggesting that neither of the Italian manufacturer’s two rain compounds is yet delivering the performance drivers need.
“Not good enough,” Sainz said in Sao Paulo.
“I think the level of the wet and the inter is not good enough, and we need to work with Pirelli on finding a better tyre because in the mixed conditions, the inter is still a very weak tyre at the rear.
“By the time it warms up, the front is gone. And the extreme, honestly, yesterday we had so much aquaplaning and a big lack of rear grip.
“So still missing a bit of development on these two tyres. I don’t know.”
Russell sees progress, but conditions matter
Mercedes driver George Russell, who finished fourth in Brazil, also encountered difficulties, particularly in bringing his tyres up to temperature.
However, the Briton was more encouraged by how Pirelli’s wet-weather range performed during its first major competitive use of the season.
"It has been substantially better than we all anticipated," Russell said.
"I think it is also important to realise that the three tracks we've driven on have been very rough tarmac, and Malaysia and the Singapore Sprint were still hot, even in the rain.
"In [Sao Paulo qualifying], even though it was raining, the track was 30 degrees, but maybe, in the 15 degrees of Spa, we're giving different feedback."
Sainz and Russell’s contrasting assessments underline the challenge facing Pirelli: performance in wet conditions can vary significantly with circuit characteristics and temperatures.
But the Spaniard’s message is unmistakable: for all the progress Russell believes has been made, the intermediate rubber remains a weak link in the tyre range.
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via X and Facebook
