Supplier of Formula One tyres Lewis Hamilton would not have made it to the finish of the Turkish Grand Prix on his original used set of inters, according to Pirelli.

Hamilton had made a significant recovery from 11th on the grid to challenge for a podium finish in the wet Istanbul race when his main rivals decided to stop for new intermediate rubber.

Hamilton decided to push on despite a demand from his Mercedes pits to come in for a change because the older tyres were still holding up well.

However, the move ultimately backfired because the pace of the used tyres started to fall away and Hamilton had to make a late change in the end.

He was eliminated from podium contention as a result, and he ended a disappointing fifth.

The strategy decision led to a debate about whether Hamilton could have finished the race without stopping, as Alpine’s Esteban Ocon did in 10th place.

However, Pirelli’s head of F1 and vehicle racing, Mario Isola, believes Hamilton’s chances of reaching the finals were limited.

“Looking at the tyres after the race, I would say no, or at least it was really at the limit,” Isola told Sky.

“The wear of the tyres, especially at the end of the race, [meant it] was running basically on the construction.

“It is a bit dangerous to push the boundaries like that, but I fully understand that in race conditions they have to maximise the result.”

When asked how Ocon made it, Isola believed that tyre wear was not identical on all cars, and that those that arrived late were left with tyres that were past their best.

“On most of the cars that stopped after lap 47 or 48, they were completely finished,” he said.

“We know that with the new tarmac, that it is more abrasive and has more grip compared to last year, and the track was not dry but still abrasive. So it was really, really at the limit.

“I was suggesting to our Pirelli engineers to warn the teams to change the tyres, and to not go to the end because it was a very risky move.”

On Monday, Hamilton took to social media to apologize for taking the risk and attempting to stay out on the user tyres.

“It isn’t true to say I’m furious with my team,” he wrote on Instagram.

“As a team we work hard to build the best strategy possible but, as the race progresses, you have to make split decisions [and] there are so many factors constantly changing.

“Yesterday we took the risk to stay out, hoping it would dry. It didn’t. I wanted to risk it and try and go to the end, but it was my call to stay out and it didn’t work. In the end we did pit and it was the safest thing to do.”

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