Pirelli boss gives his take on George Russell's claims of the wet tire being 'useless'

After the Belgian GP, George Russell stated that Pirelli's wet tires are "useless" because of the speed difference between them and the intermediates. Surprisingly, Pirelli F1 head Mario Isola agrees with Russell's criticism and recently talked about how the product can be improved.

George Russell stated that the blue-coloured wet tire is useless because of how slow it makes a driver in comparison to the intermediates, an issue which has been raised earlier as well.

As quoted by RacingNews365, Isola stated that the problems surrounding the wet tire can be divided into two parts:

"We have to divide two problems. One is the visibility and one is the performance of the Wet [tyre]."

Isola believes the tire is useful only when a race starts under safety car conditions, which was seen during the Sprint session of the Belgian GP. He added that it's not just the tire that sprays water on the drivers behind (making visibility worse), but the diffuser as well.

Start of the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix Sprint behind the safety car (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)

The new tires are designed to reduce spray and increase pace, but Isola admitted that speed is still an issue.

Isola stated that if the tire can only be used behind the safety car, then it is "useless." He said:

"But if the full Wet tyre is only being used behind the Safety Car, I agree with the drivers that at the moment, it is a useless tyre."

"We have to decide what is the direction that we want to take for the future in order to develop the product that is needed for F1."

---

George Russell to sit out Mexican GP FP1 for Mercedes junior driver

Mercedes Junior Team driver Frederik Vesti, who competes in Formula 2 with Prema Racing, will feature in George Russell's #63 W14 for the first practice session of the Mexican GP in late October.

As per Formula 1 regulations, teams are required to give junior drivers the opportunity to participate in two practice sessions per season. Talking about the upcoming opportunity to represent the Silver Arrows in F1, 21-year-old Vesti said:

"The feeling that I have to drive an official Formula 1 practice session with Lewis Hamilton next to me is completely crazy. And that's all I've ever dreamed of."