Karun Chandhok was forced to clarify comments made by himself and other Sky Sports pundits after fans slammed them for appearing to blame Pierre Gasly for an incident where he came across a recovery vehicle on track.
The Frenchman was catching up to the pack behind an early safety car at the Japanese Grand Prix when the race was red flagged after just one lap. But as the red lights flashed, Gasly drove past a recovery vehicle which had already been allowed onto the track.
It sparked concerning memories of a crash eight years ago at Suzuka which claimed the life of Jules Bianchi, a childhood friend of Gasly's. And the racer was furious, yelling over team radio : "What is this tractor on track? I passed next to it, This is unacceptable!"
In their analysis of the incident, former F1 racers Chandhok and Paul di Resta appeared to suggest Gasly should bear some of the blame for the close call. "He's pushing on, you can listen here and he's going a lot faster than anyone else is on track, said Chandhok.
Di Resta said : "I think when he looks back at his onboard camera, he is considerably quicker than the other cars passing that incident." And then Chandhok added: "It's double-waved yellow [flags] and then the red, we know this from junior formula racing, you have to go at a speed at which you can be prepared to stop... and he is quite clearly going a lot quicker than anyone else was."
But those comments sparked some anger from fans on social media. "A tractor SHOULDN'T be there in the first place. It doesn't matter if Gasly is speeding or not, a tractor SHOULDN'T be on the track. It's not that as if he slowed down, the tractor would magically disappear," wrote one viewer.
Another added: "Paul di Resta and Karun Chandok are practically blaming AlphaTauri and Gasly saying he should've been warned to slow down and the tractor is in his visibility." And a third said: "Karun Chandok and Paul di Resta... These guys are shameless man. Low-key blaming Gasly for a tractor being on track?"
Martin Brundle also appeared to disagree with his Sky colleagues, as he wrote: "Should have been an instant red flag with a stricken car in a critical position in those conditions. Clearly debris on track too. Should NEVER EVER be a tractor on track until the cars are all collected up behind a safety car or in the pits. Gasly can't take all the blame here."
Not everyone thought Chandhok and di Resta were wrong, though, such as one fan who said they were "speaking facts". Chandhok also clarified his comments with a Twitter post in which he said: "The FIA should have waited until Pierre had passed the incident before releasing the recovery vehicle on track in these low visibility conditions.
"Pierre was also going at a much faster speed than anyone else, should have been warned where the vehicle was and slowed down." He also issued an apparent U-turn with an on-air clarification, in which he made it clear that he had not intended to heap the blame onto Gasly.
In a statement on the incident, the FIA said: "In relation to the recovery of the incident on Lap 3, the Safety Car had been deployed and the race neutralised. Car 10, which had collected damage and pitted behind the Safety Car, was then driving at high speed to catch up to the field. As conditions were deteriorating, the Red Flag was shown before Car 10 passed the location of the incident where it had been damaged the previous lap."
