Karun Chandhok praises Charles Leclerc for "playing to Ferrari's strengths"

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15:44, 11 Sep 2019

byLouis Shaw

Former Formula 1 driver Karun Chandhok has praised Charles Leclerc's performance at the Italian Grand Prix last weekend. The young Ferrari driver put on an impressive performance to keep the two Mercedes behind him.

"I don't think there was a single person on Sunday night who wasn't happy for Charles Leclerc - even Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and Toto Wolff deep down seemed to be happy for the young Monegasque star!" Chandhok said to Sky Sports.

"I thought Leclerc was particularly smart at the Parabolica on every lap using a line where he went a bit deep, flirted with the edge of the track limits, but opened up the steering wheel and straightened the exit to launch himself onto the start-finish straight.

"He was playing to his and Ferrari's strengths and knew that if he broke away a few car lengths at the beginning of the straight, then despite the DRS and slipstream that Lewis would benefit from, he would be OK."

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	51
2	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	47
3	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	34
4	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	33
5	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	17
6	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	15
7	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	9
8	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	8
9	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	8
10	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	4
11	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	4
12	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	3
13	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	2
14	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
15	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	1
16	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	0
17	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
18	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	0
19	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
20	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
21	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	0
22	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0

Karun Chandhok praises Charles Leclerc for "playing to Ferrari's strengths"

byLouis Shaw

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