Chandhok: "We have seen something of the old Vettel"

Karun Chandhok says that the old Sebastian Vettel is back following his defiant performance in the first part of Sunday's Russian Grand Prix, where he raced away from Charles Leclerc in the opening laps.

Vettel took the lead at turn two after a great start and some slipstreaming help from Leclerc, and immediately pulled out a gap of over a second, not allowing his teammate to get within DRS range.

The pace he showed on the first lap was somewhat reminiscent of his Red Bull days, where he would get a good start and zoom off into the distance to win again.

Former HRT and Lotus driver Chandhok said in his analysis for Drivetribe: “Once he was in the lead, we saw something of old Vettel again. Far ahead, one with the car and attacking the turns with a sudden confidence that we haven't seen from him this season."

Chandhok also added that Ferrari made the correct call to wait for the pit stop phase to switch the drivers around, saying: “It was the right decision to wait with the switch. Vettel had a good speed and Leclerc only had to follow him. By bringing Leclerc in earlier, it was immediately clear that they were planning an 'undercut' with him. I don't understand why the team didn't immediately tell him that.”