Vettel 'deeply regrets' making 'wrong tyre call' that cost points shot

Sebastian Vettel has confirmed to having 'deep regrets' about making what proved to be a "wrong call" in switching to dry tyres during the Turkish Grand Prix that cost him a top-10 shot.

On a damp Istanbul Park track that refused to offer up a dry line due to light drizzle and high humidity, Aston Martin driver Vettel took a gamble by switching from worn intermediates that were effectively slicks after 36 laps of running to the medium compound.

At that stage, the four-time champion was running in 10th position and had a chance of claiming a points finish, but his decision badly backfired.

Vettel slid his way around the circuit on his one-and-only lap on the medium tyres, including on his way back into the pits as he quickly took on a new set of inters.

"I couldn't make them work so it was the wrong call," assessed Vettel. "I couldn't break the tyre in and then I couldn't get any grip so we lost the race today.

"I wanted to try because there wasn't much rubber left on the inters so I thought the dry [slicks] wouldn't be any different, probably a little better.

"If you look at the inter tyres, there's nothing left on them, they look like a slick, so I had a reason but it was the wrong reason. It was worth a go but it proved to be wrong.

"It was actually worse than I expected, even if it was still damp or wet a little bit here and there.

"The main thing is I couldn't break the tyre in and ended up sliding all the time. It was clear it [the grip] was never going to come.

"I'm 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, and in the end, we didn't get any."

Asked whether he deeply regretted the decision, Vettel replied: "Yeah, sure. It's a no brainer now.

"But at the time...I was tempted already some laps before as the inters weren't getting any better."

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