Brazilian GP practice quotes: Pirelli

Paul Hembery: "It was a tricky start to the weekend here at Interlagos, but the conditions we saw are likely to continue for the rest of the weekend, so it was useful for the teams to establish a wet set-up and assess the performance of the wet and intermediate tyres with different fuel loads. It was a pity that the drivers didn't get the chance to try the development tyres as this was an important opportunity: on the other hand, the 2014 tyres are obviously designed for a completely different type of car to what we see competing for the final time this weekend, so there was only a limited amount to learn anyway. In the end the situation was just a bit unlucky, as on the two previous occasions that we brought development tyres to Brazil in 2011 and 2012, conditions remained dry on a Friday

"You can't control the weather though, which has always been part of the challenge of Formula One. There is of course only limited data you can get from wet running and the risk of damaging the car is higher than in dry conditions, so teams tend to restrict running despite the fact that wear and degradation on both the intermediate and wet is low, as long as it continues to rain and the compound doesn't overheat. The intermediate tyre in particular has shown itself to be very adaptable yet durable over a wide range of conditions. It's hard to predict a strategy under these circumstances, as in the end it's the most quick-thinking and flexible tactics that tend to win in the rain - and of course there's always an element of luck as well."