Sebastian Vettel took full responsibility for his short-lived switch to dry tyres midway through the Turkish Grand Prix, a decision which lasted just a single racing lap.
The Istanbul race featured the intermediate wet-weather tyre throughout the race except for lap 36, when Vettel pitted and Aston Martin surprisingly fitted medium dry tyres to his car.
On his out-lap from the pits Vettel struggled to keep the car in a straight line and he dropped down the order as he struggled for grip. At the end of the lap he pitted for fresh intermediates and finished 18th.
Vettel, who was 11th when he pitted, said it felt like a risk worth taking at the time.
« Together [we made the call] but in the end I made the decision, I wanted to try to go for it, » Vettel said.
« On the inters there was nothing left, so I thought the dry tyres could be as good but I couldn’t break them in and just had no grip and lost so much time as I couldn’t make them work.
« It was worse than I expected, even if it was damp a little bit here and there, or wet. But the main thing was I couldn’t break the tyre in and then you are just sliding on the top.
« It is a no-brainer now but at that time I don’t know. I was tempted some laps before and the inters were not getting any better.
« If you look at the inter tyres there is nothing left on them, they look like a slick, so I think I had reason but obviously it was the wrong decision. »
Vettel believed there was a chance of scoring points if the gamble had worked.
« I am obviously disappointed having made the wrong call. On the other hand, it was tempting to try but it was the wrong decision. We lost the run for points, maybe one or two but in the end, we didn’t get any. »
https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/32373294/sebastian-vettel-failed-slick-tyre-switch-was-my-call
