Sebastian Vettel and his decision to change to slicks in the Turkish GP left former Red Bull teammate Mark Webber amazed and confused.
The four-time World Champion was in contention for possible points finish in Turkey before pitting for slicks. In the 38th lap of the race, Sebastian Vettel felt a dry line starting to emerge on track.
Surprisingly, he took a huge gamble and decided to replace his intermediate tires with medium-compound ones. This decision effectively cost him a points finish in Istanbul.
The rain was never too heavy in Istanbul Park Circuit this year, but there was certainly no grip for slicks. Sebastian Vettel was the first and only driver to take this risk. Unfortunately for the Aston Martin driver, it did not pay off.
Sebastian Vettel was always looking for someone to serve as Guinea Pig, says Webber
The Australian former Formula 1 driver said he was actually impressed by this decision of his. ”I actually liked it because normally he never did this,” said Webber.
“He never made the first decision. He was always looking for someone to serve as a guinea pig so he was trying something incredible now. I had no idea what he must have been thinking.”
”The team cares about those few points, but that doesn’t matter much to Vettel. He wants to have a big success. However, the dryline was so narrow that overtaking had also become very difficult.”
“It was a daring attempt, but within fifteen seconds, it was already clear to him that he had made the wrong choice. Compliments for the attempt though”, he added.
The race ended with Sebastian Vettel finishing P18 well outside the points. Teammate Lance Stroll however, took home a couple of points finishing P9.
Aston Martin have had a tough 2021 season with them sitting 7th in the Constructors’ Championship. Vettel and Stroll sit in 12th and 13th place in the Drivers’ standings respectively.
