F1 Twitter Bashes Karun Chandhok for Apparently Changing Stance on Lewis Hamilton-Max Verstappen Incident

Former F1 driver and TV commentator Karun Chandhok has spurred a heated debate with a Tweet over exceeding track limits. With changing business models and the urge to make the sport more spectacle worthy, the role of race control came under the lens many times during the 2021 season.

In the process of breaking new grounds and taking F1 to unchartered territories, accusations of making it sellable rather than fair were always around the corner. The Abu Dhabi GP also witnessed a similar incident when Lewis Hamilton went off the track to maintain his position after a near collision with Max Verstappen. However, inconsistency prevailed again as Stewards did not investigate the incident.

Similarly, the FIA left Verstappen off the hook during the São Paulo Grand Prix after Mercedes accused him of exceeding track limits. However, the Dutchman had to serve a penalty following a similar incident in Jeddah.

Twitter F1 reacts harshly to Chandhok’s latest stance

An incident in the F3 Asian Championship, to which Chandhok reacted, triggered this debate. After the infamous Max-Lewis incident in Brazil, Chandhok defended the Dutchman calling it “hard racing”. Twitter brought back his earlier comments after he strongly rejected the idea of tarmac runoffs. His recent tweet read, “Utter stupidity but also shows why the FIA needs to push for less asphalt run offs! I’ve said for many years that we need 5 meters of a “natural deterrent” (grass / gravel) on the edge of the track to stop people going off track and maintaining speed and position.”

While some users agreed with his opinion, many criticized him citing double standards. Let us look at some reactions which followed this tweet.

Talking about the modern F1 tracks, most of them do not have gravel traps. Instead, they have large expanses of tarmac runoff, painted with very high-grip compounds in places to rapidly arrest the cars.

Clearly, the consequence of running wide in today’s Formula 1 is hardly losing a place or two, and might just be a 5-second penalty. Many believe this is not harsh enough and suggest bringing back the traditional gravel trap or sometimes, an electronic gravel trap.

After a controversial season like the last one, debates like these are bound to happen. While some believe that the “let them race” philosophy is causing these, others might differ. Tell us your opinion on this polarizing debate down in the comment box.

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