What the Brazilian Grand Prix Revealed About Formula 1’s Ability to Handle Rain

Brazilian Grand Prix exposes wet-weather challenges for 2026 Formula 1 cars

The Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos delivered Formula 1’s first genuinely comprehensive wet-weather test of the season, putting the sport’s 2026 cars and latest-generation tyres under conditions that had prompted intense concern throughout the year. Rain disrupted qualifying and returned during the race, allowing teams and drivers to assess how the new cars performed on extreme-wet and intermediate tyres.

Qualifying was suspended for 80 minutes after a heavy downpour arrived at the start of the session. George Russell later warned that the conditions could have created unacceptable risks if they had occurred during a race.

“I love driving in the rain here but, at some point, if that was a race, there was no way we should be driving in that because the chances of seeing a really, really horrific incident are very, very high,”

Despite the criticism surrounding the session, the general view in the Interlagos paddock was that the FIA handled the situation correctly. Officials immediately stopped Q1 during the heaviest rain and waited for a suitable window before restarting the session.

“In general, I want to race, but yesterday [Saturday] I think it was the perfect call,”

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur also described how severe the initial conditions were for the cars.

“When we did the first [Q1] lap before the red flag, we came back with two centimetres of water in the car…”

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Extreme-wet tyre more useful, but intermediates remain a concern

The conditions during the red flag were too severe for meaningful track activity, but the weekend provided important evidence about the performance of Formula 1’s wet-weather compounds. Pirelli’s heavily treaded extreme-wet tyres have historically been used rarely because their operating range is often outside the conditions considered suitable for racing. They can displace large amounts of water, but their tread blocks wear and overheat quickly as the track begins to dry.

Intermediate tyres have therefore usually been the preferred option in less extreme rain. However, the 2026 intermediates are understood to be too hard and slow to reach operating temperature. Testing restrictions have also prevented Pirelli from carrying out directly comparable development work with the narrower wheels required this season.

Those limitations had raised concerns that reduced intermediate-tyre grip, combined with the more aggressive torque delivery of the latest engines, could make the new Formula 1 cars extremely difficult to control in the wet. At Interlagos, the results were more nuanced. The circuit’s surface created drivability problems at times, but the cars were not consistently undriveable.

Qualifying offered some evidence that the extreme-wet tyre is becoming more practical, while the intermediate tyre remained more problematic. Kimi Antonelli went off at Juncao on his way to the grid, and several drivers reported that their cars became difficult to handle again when late-race rain forced a return to intermediates.

“I think what is good is that we can use the ‘big wet’ much more than in the past,”

Vasseur said the development could reduce the need to use intermediates in conditions better suited to the extreme-wet compound.

“And this is good because it’s not pushing you to use inter when it’s a more ‘big wet’ situation, or mix between the two, and then you are taking risks.

“I think the quali was pretty good… but also the grip was completely different. You saw in the lap to the grid today that everybody was completely like hell. I think it’s a difficult track with these conditions.”

Drivers report unstable grip in changing conditions

Pirelli’s target for the following season is to narrow the performance gap between its wet-weather compounds. The company wants the intermediate tyre to warm up faster and the extreme-wet tyre to resist wear for longer. Achieving that balance is difficult because different circuits generate different levels of energy through the tyres, while track surfaces and temperatures vary significantly.

Alex Albon, who finished 15th in Brazil, said the intermediate tyre could wear before it reached a useful operating temperature.

“It was difficult to fire them up but they also wore quite quickly,”

“So even when they’re cold, they’re wearing and it just feels like they never overheat, or they never level up to temperature. And then by the time you’re circulating, the tread’s already come off the tyre and then you’re already struggling, you’re sliding around. So, you never feel good at any point in the race; it never feels like it comes alive.”

The inconsistent tyre performance helped explain the unusual opening laps. Drivers at the front of the grid were forced to proceed cautiously because they could not properly sense the available grip, while some drivers farther back benefited from spending less time waiting for the start and achieved stronger getaways.

Performance also varied from car to car. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton moved rapidly into the top 10 after starting 20th and 21st, respectively. Hamilton then lost ground when his car developed severe oversteer, while Verstappen, like Antonelli, found his car’s performance deteriorated when slick tyres became relevant.

More tyre development needed before wider conclusions

The weekend’s mixed results left teams with valuable data but no definitive answer for every circuit. Carlos Sainz said both wet-weather compounds still needed development, particularly in mixed conditions.

“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 sliding and a big lack of rear grip, so still missing a bit of development on these two tyres.”

Conditions at Interlagos may not provide a universal guide. The circuit’s surface, ambient temperature and changing rainfall created a specific test environment, meaning that a tyre or car behaviour observed in Brazil may not be repeated at another venue.

Liam Lawson highlighted the importance of ambient temperature after finding the cars particularly difficult to control when conditions became cooler.

“Quite tricky I would say,”

“The biggest problem today is the [ambient] temperature was much cooler than yesterday. And so even though there was less water, on the laps of the grid the cars were nearly undriveable, and the temps were just going down.

“So, we survived the start of the race but at points when it rains a lot, the inter becomes… it’s not that the standing water’s too much, it’s that you can’t actually keep the temperature in it. So, if we’re on a track like Vegas and it rains, honestly, I think we’re in trouble.

“But overall, obviously we got through a weekend for the first time with these tyres.”

Why This Matters

The Brazilian Grand Prix showed that wet-weather performance remains one of the most important development challenges for the 2026 Formula 1 regulations. The weekend did not produce the widespread safety crisis that had been predicted, but it exposed a narrow operating window for the intermediate tyre and continuing rear-grip weaknesses across both wet-weather compounds.

The data collected at Interlagos will help Pirelli and the teams refine their tyres and understand how the new cars deliver power in low-grip conditions. However, different circuit surfaces and temperatures mean further wet races will be required before Formula 1 can determine whether the problems seen in Brazil are isolated or part of a broader 2026 trend.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened during wet qualifying at the Brazilian Grand Prix?

Heavy rain at Interlagos caused an 80-minute red flag at the start of qualifying. The FIA suspended Q1 during the downpour and restarted the session only after identifying a safer window.

Which Formula 1 wet-weather tyre caused the most concern?

The intermediate tyre was the main concern because drivers found it difficult to bring the compound up to temperature. It could also wear while still lacking sufficient grip, leaving cars difficult to control.

Were the 2026 Formula 1 cars undriveable in the wet?

Not consistently. Conditions at Interlagos caused significant drivability problems at certain points, especially as temperatures fell and rain returned, but the weekend produced a more mixed and nuanced result than the severe predictions made before the race.