Max Verstappen goes into a new Formula 1 season as the "out-and-out" favourite for more championship glory for the first time in his career, believes Karun Chandhok.
The Dutchman won his first title in 2021 but it was an extraordinarily close run thing. Securing silverware on the final lap of the last race of the year was not enough to convince many that he was the clear pick ahead of the 2022 season over Lewis Hamilton.
Plus, a new set of car regulations muddied the waters further. It was impossible to predict which teams would have the strongest cars until the racing began and, in time, it became obvious Mercedes weren't competitive enough and Ferrari kept making too many mistakes.
Speaking on the new Sky Sports F1 Vodcast, presenter Natalie Pinkham said: "It was a double DNF [for Red Bull] in Bahrain last year and a bit of slow burner with their reliability issues. But yeah, once they hit their stride there was no challenging them.
"What's ominous for their competitors is the fact that this is an evolution of last year's car which finished 2022 so dominantly. There's just an air of confidence about Max and the team – they just seem in a really good place. So I can't really see beyond them."
Asked if he feels Verstappen is the clear favourite for the 2023 title, Chandhok replied: "Yes," without hesitation. He added: "Last year there were so many unknowns with the new cars. Who was going to be there? And we still thought Mercedes were going to be in the fight.
"Honestly, coming off the back of 2021 when Mercedes and Red Bull were fighting so hard until the end, what Red Bull did last year – to still arrive at a new set of rules with the most competitive car, or one of the most – was seriously impressive. I remember speaking to James Allison about it in the summer and he was very complimentary of the fact that Red Bull managed to arrive with a strong car.
"It is the first time [Verstappen] is the out-and-out favourite. I think at testing last year Red Bull did look like the most competitive car and, when we actually got to the race, it seemed like Ferrari had more sandbags in it and they turned the engine up a bit more." But he did have some good news for fans of the Scuderia as he shared some interesting information.
"I do think, from what I understand, they've perhaps turned the engines up on the Alfa Romeo a bit more in testing to see where the potential was while keeping their own engine modes under cover a bit more. Maybe, when we get to the weekend, the Ferrari will be more competitive over one lap."
