Isola explains the changes made to the new wet tyres

Most of the tyre talk over the winter break was focusing on the new naming system. These are already known (C1-C5) and tested during Barcelona. But how about wet-running?

The majority of the wet tyres managed to stay dry last season as we barely saw them take to the track. However, just in case we need them during a race, or in qualifying, how have Pirelli changed these tyres?

“Last year if you remember we had two compounds for intermediate and two for the wet. We have now a new compound for the Intermediate with a wider working range in order to guarantee [crossover] towards the slicks and [towards the] wet. 

“The Wet tyre has a new compound but also a new construction, I would say a new profile, especially in the front, that is designed to better resist to aquaplaning," said Mario Isola in conversation with MotorsportWeek.com.

“That means that we had to move also the Intermediate to guarantee the crossover for the Wet, but also keep the same crossover for Intermediate and slick, and that’s what we do with the new Intermediate compound.

“The Wet is a new tyre, both construction and compound, with a different working range that is able to switch on at a low track temperature. That’s why we decided to eliminate a soft version of the two tyres.”

The rain wasn't frequent on Saturday or Sunday's but came during Friday practice on a few more occasions. Teams refused to run because they weren't given the extra set of wets, so the cars remained in the garage to avoid the risk of a lack of rubber for qualifying.