What the Brazilian GP revealed about F1's ability to cope with rain

The Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos in Formula 1 has raised questions about the sport's ability to handle wet weather races. Rain was expected for both qualifying and the race, marking the first time this season. While earlier races like Bahrain had interrupted races due to rain, Interlagos remained wet throughout the event. Qualifying was red-flagged for 80 minutes, causing concern among drivers and media outlets.

However, the FIA made the right decisions by suspending Q1 during the downpour and carefully determining a safe time to resume. After the race, team principals and drivers praised the FIA's calls, stating they were appropriate given the circumstances.

The main concern was how the cars and new Pirelli tyres would perform in the wet and rapidly changing conditions. Historically, Pirelli's heavily treaded 'extreme wet' tyres are rarely used due to overheating issues, while the intermediate tyres are often too hard to warm up properly. This year's intermediates were particularly problematic. Some drivers experienced instability when returning to intermediates during rain, while others found the 'extreme' tyres usable but wearing quickly.

Despite the challenges, the FIA has been working on improving power delivery in wet conditions. The target for next year is to bring the performance of the wet-weather compounds closer together, making the intermediate tyres warm up faster and the 'extreme' tyres more resistant to wear. However, this presents an engineering challenge due to the varying track conditions. The mixed performance of the wet and dry tyres over the race highlights the need for further development of the wet-weather compounds.