Fernando Alonso has joined fellow Formula 1 veteran Lewis Hamilton in voicing outspoken criticism of Pirelli's wet-weather tyres.
During a live interview in the rainy Interlagos pitlane, seven-time world champion Hamilton interrupted Stefano Domenicali, the F1 CEO, as he explained the delay in qualifying due to safety concerns.
A grinning Hamilton interjected, telling Domenicali, "You should have sent us out! This is ridiculous. I want to get out!"
"If you give us better wet tyres and blankets we would be able to run in this. I'm putting you on the spot," Hamilton laughed, referring to the current limitations of the tyres supplied by Pirelli.
On Sunday, with lingering wet conditions for the Brazilian GP, the race saw a series of spins and incidents. Lance Stroll spun out on the formation lap, and Franco Colapinto later crashed under a safety car period, bringing out the red flag.
"They weren't ideal," Alonso remarked when questioned about the race conditions. "But then again, we don't have the tyres suitable for the top category of the sport either."
"When it rains a bit, we always have aquaplaning and accidents," he continued, citing Colapinto's crash as an example. "Sometimes you can't even keep up with the safety car," the Aston Martin driver emphasized.
"We need to improve that."
In response to these critiques, Pirelli's F1 boss Mario Isola pointed to the rain's "varying intensity" and the new track surface in Brazil as additional factors.
"The grip levels in the wet were very limited, partly due to the oily layer that it created," said Isola. "All things considered, I believe both (wet) tyres proved to be up to the job in hand."
However, Isola acknowledged that there is room for improvement in wet tyre performance.
"That's the goal," he stated. "For next season, we've made some improvements but unfortunately, we haven't had the opportunity to do proper testing on a track that's very demanding on the tyres."
"We've changed the tread pattern a little bit, worked on the construction and the compound. We've made progress, but I can't say whether it's enough or not," Isola admitted.
He added, "If we are talking only about the lack of performance of rain tyres, it only means that the cars should go slower. We realise that we need to improve the performance, but that doesn't mean that our rain tyres cannot be driven."
