The damp, but crucially strong, rainless conditions at the Turkish Grand Prix prompted many drivers to consider switching from intermediate tires to slicks in the middle of the race. But only one driver, Sebastian Vettel, would be brave enough to try – and as he admitted after the race, it was definitely the wrong step.
Vettel drove to the P10 position he had started in when he decided to pit on lap 36 for medium-sized tires Parking surface, the switch to full slicks could be worthwhile.
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However, similar scenes followed as in the ultra-low-grip run at the 2020 Turkey Grand Prix, when Vettel did not generate enough heat in the tires and the four-time champion ran off the track several times on his excruciatingly slow out lap before his Aston Martin AMR21 returns straight to the pits – and half spins in the pit entrance – to trade its media for new Inters.
“As soon as I left the box, I knew it was the wrong decision,” admitted Vettel afterwards. “There was no grip and I couldn’t get it to work… I was really surprised at how slowly the track improved and it was similar to last year because it just didn’t dry out.
Sebastian Vettel: “We lost the race” with a tire change game
“I couldn’t get it to work so it was the wrong call,” he added. “I wanted to try because there wasn’t a lot of rubber left on the Inters, so I thought the Drys would be no different or probably a little better because the grip is higher. But I couldn’t break in the tire and then didn’t get any grip, so we lost the race there today. “
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Vettel would come home with a disappointed P18 – just before the two Haas runners. And with his pointless series, which has expanded to four races – when teammate Lance Stroll ended up in 9th place – Vettel admitted that his risk had probably cost him a top 10 placement in Turkey.
“I’m of course disappointed to have made the wrong call,” said Vettel. “It was tempting to try, but simply the wrong decision. So I think we lost them [chance] for points, maybe one or two – and in the end we didn’t get any. “
The post “As soon as I left the pit lane, I knew it was the wrong decision” – Vettel on his disastrous switch to slicks in Turkey in the middle of the race first appeared on monter-une-startup.
