• Hungarian Grand Prix

Webber rues intermediate tyre gamble

Mark Webber made a late pit stop for intermediate tyres © Getty Images

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• Race:
• Hungarian Grand Prix

• Championship:
• FIA Formula One World Championship

• Drivers:
• Mark Webber

• Teams:
• Red Bull

Mark Webber was left ruing his decision to switch to intermediate tyres towards the end of the Hungarian Grand Prix, but felt he had to gamble at that stage of the race.

Webber pitted for intermediates at the end of lap 51 as rain started to fall but it turned out to be a passing shower and he lost two places as a result of the stop. He managed to make one back by the end of race after switching back to slicks.

"It was quite an enjoyable grand prix up until we made the wrong decision from the cockpit," Webber told BBC Sport. "You look completely stupid when you're only on the intermediates for two laps. If it rains heavier for another three or four minutes then that's the right the decision, but that's the roll of the dice you've got to make. Obviously the difference between the slicks and the inters when it was wet was a lot. It was my call and I decided to roll the dice, if it worked you win big, but if you lose, well obviously I lost a position. That's the way it was today."

Webber started sixth on the grid but was eight by the end of the first lap. He said starting on the dirty side of the grid had not helped.

"It was pretty slippery on that side of the grid, I think," he added. "We got away reasonably well, I saw the Mercedes and those guys got a very good start and a lot better than me for sure. That was the first part of the race but you knew there were going to be some more decisions later in the race, and I got some right and some wrong."

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