Sebastian Vettel has accepted responsibility for the decision to use dry tyres during the Formula One Turkish Grand Prix in damp conditions.
The Aston Martin driver was the first to bet on dry tyres in the challenging circumstances at Istanbul Park, opting for new mediums after 36 laps, despite the track still being wet in several places.
The strategy, which Vettel stated was a team choice but one he made the final call on, wrecked his race and points fight as he slipped off track at Turns 4 and 7 on his opening lap on medium tyres before opting to pit immediately, where he suffered a half-spin at pit entry.
Vettel finished 18th after changing to new intermediate tyres, just ahead of the two Haas drivers.
Vettel explained the reasoning behind his demand for dry tyres, but he knew the plan would fail as soon as he lost temperature.
“Together [we made the dry tyre call] but in the end I made the decision, I wanted to try to go for it,” Vettel said after the race.
“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 [call] 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.”
Despite the fact that the Turkish GP circuit had been treated since last year’s race, undergoing a water-blasting procedure that provided much more grip this weekend, Vettel felt the track conditions were “strange” during the race, as it failed to dry sufficiently despite the pre-race rain relenting.
“The track is good fun but it was a bit strange today, similar to last year with the intermediates and staying out so long,” Vettel said, having finished on the podium in last year’s Turkish GP.
“At some point I thought it was ready for dry tyres so I took the risk but it didn’t work.
“Last year I was thinking 15 laps to go that I wanted to try the slick tyres when the track was a little bit worse so I thought it was worth a go but it proved to be wrong.”
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