Lewis Hamilton issues warning as F1 braced for 'elimination game'

Lewis Hamilton has described Pirelli's wet weather tyres as "not spectacular" as Pierre Gasly delivered an "elimination game" warning for the Canadian GP.

The Montréal race is expected to be wet, with drivers experiencing the new 2026 cars in such conditions in competition for the first time if the current forecast holds.

Hamilton is one of the handful of drivers to have experience in running in the wet in 2026, owing to a Pirelli tyre at Fiorano in April, with Pirelli recommending that drivers start on the full wets owing to the unique circumstances expected. 

Low air temperatures are expected to be combined with the low energy circuit layout, meaning drivers are going to struggle to generate tyre temperature. 

Hamilton believes that the full wet tyres, seldom used in recent years, simply "don't work."

"The wet tyres are not spectacular in terms of the way that they've moved to having no blankets to low blanket temperatures," Hamilton told the media, including RacingNews365.

"[Pirelli] had to build a tyre that worked with those blankets and made it worse, so we're constantly battling tyres that don't work.

"In my test, I pushed them to the blankets [temperature], they did it, I pushed them to add the blankets to the extreme wet tyres, which they have, but it is still not enough."

Meanwhile, Alpine's Gasly feared an "elimination game" could take place.

"I would not be surprised if we end up having a bit of an elimination game, but I might be wrong," he said.

"I tried [the wets] in Magny Cours, and it was a bit of a surprise. In the dry, it is difficult to warm up the tyres, and so in the rain, it will be extremely difficult, and from what I've experienced, it will make for a pretty eventful race.

"It is going to be important to see the chequered flag, and I don't want to say too much, but I expect pretty difficult conditions. 

When asked if he would try the intermediate tyres, Gasly quipped that he would "let others try the inters."