Pirelli’s ‘wet’ tyres can displace a remarkable 85 litres of water per second at racing speeds, but it’s rare to see an F1 wet tyre in action during a race. The amount of water being displaced by these tyres can lead to red flags in certain conditions, as seen in races like Belgium in 2021 and Sao Paulo last year. Pirelli’s focus for next-generation tyres is to improve the wet tyre’s performance to be closer to the intermediate tyre, making it more usable in race conditions.
To achieve this, Pirelli conducted tests at Ferrari’s Fiorano circuit with drivers like Charles Leclerc and Zhou Guanyu using a ‘mule car’ to simulate the next-generation cars’ loadings. The challenge lies in finding the ideal ‘crossover point’ between wet and intermediate tyres in changing conditions. Pirelli aims to improve the extreme wet tyre’s usability and performance, ensuring a smoother transition between tyre types and better race conditions overall.
