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

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15:44, 11 Sep 2019

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	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	131
2	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	88
3	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	75
4	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	72
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	58
6	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	48
7	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	43
8	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	20
9	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
10	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	16
11	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	15
12	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	14
13	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
14	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	5
15	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
16	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	1
17	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	1
18	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
19	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
20	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
21	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0
22	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	0

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

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