Karun Chandhok’s telling one-word response to Charles Leclerc ‘problem’ question

Karun Chandhok believes Charles Leclerc needs to rein himself in when it comes to racing Ferrari Formula 1 team-mate Lewis Hamilton following their high-profile clash in Mexico. 

There was controversy on the opening lap of the Mexico City Grand Prix when Leclerc attacked Hamilton around the outside of Turn 4 but cut the corner to take the lead, with his team-mate also losing out to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the kerfuffle. 

Leclerc was given a five-second time penalty for the incident which enabled Verstappen to take victory ahead of Hamilton, with the Monegasque ultimately finishing off the podium in fourth. 

After the race, Lewis Hamilton demanded “serious talks” at Ferrari after claiming his fight with Leclerc cost the team a victory and possible one-two finish. The seven-time world champion also accused Leclerc of having a “do or die” approach to racing. 

Asked if Leclerc is the problem by Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft on the latest F1 Show podcast, Chandhok replied: “Yes. 

"Certainly Lewis Hamilton alluded to that, didn’t he. I think he makes a point. We’ve now had two examples of where Charles was too aggressive and Lewis has come off badly, but more importantly Ferrari has come off badly. 

“What I think people perhaps need to understand is when the adrenaline is pumping, when you’re in a grand prix car, when you’re in a race, the adrenaline is pumping so hard, especially on the opening lap. 

“Your heart rate is in the 170s and at that point, sometimes you are going on your sort of natural racers instincts, and you’re not thinking perhaps as clearly as you should be doing. 

“So I think both things are true. One is I think Charles probably needs to think about how he can have a calmer approach to racing his team-mate. I also think it’s not coming natural to him to back off a bit and treat his team-mate a bit differently to other cars.

"That’s where I think the team have to get involved. Because it’s not coming naturally, they are going to have to force him into thinking that way a bit more.” 

Fellow Sky Sports F1 pundit Nico Rosberg also sharply criticised Leclerc following the aggressive wheel-to-wheel fight with Hamilton. 

“Interestingly, it’s always Charles’ fault, isn’t it? It’s never Lewis’s fault. In the last couple of times, in Monza it was Charles, here it was Charles,” the 2016 world champion told Sky Sports F1.