Russell says São Paulo weekend exceeded expectations as Sainz and Albon criticise F1's wet tyres

Heavy rain in qualifying brought Pirelli's full wets into competition for the first time in 2026. Sunday's grand prix was the season's first to start in wet conditions and ran wet-dry-wet; a late shower forced drivers from slicks to intermediates, which got their first proper run. The assessments split: George Russell said the weekend had gone better than expected, while Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon said the tyres still needed work.

Sainz said neither the intermediate nor the full wet was good enough. In mixed conditions, he said, the intermediate remained weak at the rear; during qualifying, he reported heavy aquaplaning and too little rear grip with the full wet.

Russell offered a more positive assessment, saying the weekend was substantially better than anticipated. He said all three tracks the drivers had run on were rough, while wet sessions in Malaysia and at the Singapore Sprint were still hot. São Paulo's track was 30 degrees during qualifying, he said; he suggested feedback might differ at Spa in 15-degree conditions.

Albon also blamed the tyres rather than the cars. After qualifying, he described the full wet as “really poor” and the intermediate as “semi-sensible”; he still cited low grip, difficulty getting the tyres up to temperature and rapid wear. He called for a better wet tyre next year.