Karun Chandhok declares George Russell as the main favorite of the "Formula 1" championship

Former "Formula 1" driver Karun Chandhok has named Mercedes driver George Russell as the main favorite for the upcoming season's championship.

Idman.Biz reports that Chandhok voiced this opinion after Mercedes' successful performance in the pre-season test in Barcelona. The German representative completed 502 laps during the tests, achieving the highest indicator among all teams.

It should be noted that although Mercedes has not been at the forefront of the title fight in recent years, it is reported that the team is distinguished by a strong engine project before the new technical regulations era. This has led many experts to believe that the Brackley representative will start the new era with an advantage, as it did in 2014.

Karun Chandhok stated in his statement to "Sky F1" that the fact that "Mercedes" works as a unified system in terms of both chassis and engine is a serious advantage. According to him, the teams that currently have this level of integration are "Mercedes", "Ferrari", "Audi" and "Red Bull". However, "Audi" and "Red Bull" may have certain concessions as they have started new projects, but there is no excuse for "Mercedes" and "Ferrari".

Chandhok emphasized that despite the fact that "Mercedes" also provides engines to the "McLaren", "Williams" and "Alpine" teams, the close cooperation between the chassis and engine departments in the factory team can create a decisive advantage at the beginning of the season.

Based on these factors, the expert named George Russell as the main favorite of the upcoming "Formula 1" season.