Ferrari overestimated tyre degradation according to team boss Maurizio Arrivabene, which ultimately cost Sebastian Vettel a shot at winning the Canadian Grand Prix, as he dropped behind eventual race winner Lewis Hamilton.
A virtual safety car for Jenson Button's McLaren prompted Ferrari to switch from a one-stop to a two-stop, but it proved to be an incorrect move as Hamilton made the one-stop work to finish five second ahead of Vettel.
"We overestimated the degradation of the tyres," explained Arrivabene. "This is the reason why we called [Vettel] in and this was the wrong decision.”
When suggested Ferrari had also cost Vettel a victory at the season opener in Australia through poor strategy, Arrivabene dismissed it was a persistent problem.
"We don’t have to make the story bigger than what it is," he added. "Today we made a mistake, but in other races everyone makes mistakes. The big one is when you lose for this thing."
Speaking after the race, Vettel also admitted that the tyres lasted longer than they had expected them to.
"Lewis was a bit too quick, that was the issue," he said. "We committed fairly early to a different strategy, which we were planning to come back. Lewis had a chance to stay out and see what the tyres are doing – they lasted a bit better than expected.
"This made it tricky with fresher tyres to close the gap, but overall, it was a great weekend for us. We struggled a little bit in the last couple of the races. Now to see that the car has performance and unleash it… it was a really fun race."
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