F1’s Wet Tyre Woes Piastri Calls Conditions “Dangerous”

Piastri Criticises F1 Wet Tyres: “Dangerous and Ineffective”

06/11/2024

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri raises concerns over F1’s wet tyre safety, highlighting issues during Brazil’s challenging, rain-soaked race conditions.

Oscar Piastri had hoped for a strong race in Brazil after the opening laps, as he found himself in a chasing pack. However, the McLaren F1 driver collided with Liam Lawson, for which he later apologised after making an error that resulted in a penalty.

“It was a tough day from start to finish,” Piastri admitted. “The first half of the race felt really quick—Lando [Norris] was stuck behind George [Russell], and I was stuck behind Liam [Lawson].”

“I got past Liam, but not in the way I’d have liked. I think in the second half of the race, after the red flag, we were simply slow. Both of us struggled with pace, and it ended up being around thirty pretty challenging laps.”

“I was stuck behind him for quite a while and didn’t get far enough clear. I spoke with him afterward; he told me he hadn’t seen me either, which is quite normal in those conditions, but it was definitely my fault, and the penalty was deserved.”

Piastri pointed out that several drivers sticking with intermediates during heavy rain highlighted an issue with Pirelli’s extreme wet tyres: “I don’t think we expected it to rain that heavily. Honestly, the toughest part of the race was under the safety car, just trying to stay on track.”

Calling the race conditions “dangerous,” the Australian added, “I think it underscored the problem we have with wet tyres when everyone is pleading for a red flag but refusing to switch to wet tyres because they’re very poor.”

“It’s a pretty dangerous situation where cars are struggling to stay on track behind the safety car. It’s not exactly new, but hopefully, we can try to address it now.”

F1’s Wet Tyre Woes: Piastri Calls Conditions “Dangerous” F1’s Wet Tyre Woes: Piastri Calls Conditions “Dangerous”

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