Formula 1 will introduce revised wet-weather tyre specifications for the 2027 season following widespread driver criticism of the current rubber’s performance during the recent Brazilian Grand Prix.
Pirelli is finalizing these updates to resolve warm-up and grip deficiencies experienced by drivers in mixed, cold-track conditions at Interlagos.
The core of the driver frustration, as reported by The Race, centers on the inability of the current intermediate tyres to reach their optimal operating window. During the Interlagos weekend, drivers struggled to generate heat in the rubber during formation laps, leading to near-undriveable conditions even when standing water was minimal.
Williams driver Carlos Sainz was explicit regarding the shortcomings, stating, “The level of the wet and the inter is not good enough and we need to work with Pirelli on finding a better tyre.”
Pirelli’s motorsport boss, Dario Marrafuschi, confirmed that the manufacturer is actively adjusting the intermediate spec for next year. “Some of the drivers were complaining about warm-up, so we have been working for next year on the warm-up phase, on the intermediates,” Marrafuschi told The Race.
While the final homologation is set for December, the development path is being shaped by the data harvested from the 2026 season’s varied track surfaces.
The performance dip compared to previous iterations is not an accident of design, but a consequence of the rigid technical regulations introduced for 2026. Pirelli has been forced to produce a stronger carcass to withstand the extreme forces generated by the new active aero systems and the transition between "straight mode" and "corner mode."
This structural necessity has forced minimum tyre pressures significantly higher. In Brazil, front pressures for intermediates were set at 28psi, up from 25.5psi the previous year. This increased stiffness limits the tyre’s ability to “work” and generate internal heat, a point emphasized by Haas driver Ollie Bearman, who said that the tyres feel “very stiff, very hard to warm up.”
| Tyre Type | 2025 Front Pressure (psi) | 2026 Front Pressure (psi) |
|---|---|---|
| Intermediate | 25.5 | 28.0 |
| Wet | 22.0 | 26.5 |
While the drivers have been largely critical, the data shows that the issue is not entirely uniform across the grid. Marrafuschi pointed out that certain teams managed the current compounds more effectively than others.
“We saw in the beginning of the race, Lewis [Hamilton] having an astonishing performance, with zero warm-up problems at all,” Marrafuschi said. This suggests that while the tyre window is narrow, there is still room for teams to optimize their mechanical set-ups and ride-height configurations to assist with heat generation.
However, the skepticism remains widespread. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly described the current intermediate compound as feeling like “driving on ice,” contrasting it sharply with previous generations of Pirelli rubber. As Pirelli works on developments for next season, the focus remains on addressing driver concerns regarding the warm-up phase and performance of the intermediate tyres.
The final homologation of the 2027 wet-weather specifications is scheduled for December, when further details regarding the compound adjustments will be made public.
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