Karun Chandhok Warns George Russell Faces Rosberg or Ricciardo Path

George Russell faces 15 months that Karun Chandhok reports could determine whether he follows the career paths of Nico Rosberg or Daniel Ricciardo after a difficult campaign alongside Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli.

“Here’s an interesting one for George Russell, and I’m fascinated to see what happens over the next 15 months between now and the end of next season,” said Karun Chandhok, Sky Sports F1 pundit and analyst.

According to Chandhok, Russell has been “pretty beaten up” this year after Antonelli secured the championship at the Mexico City Grand Prix as the youngest champion in F1 history. Chandhok said that Russell could follow the trajectory of Rosberg, who bounced back from defeat against Lewis Hamilton to win the 2016 world championship. Alternatively, Russell could mirror Ricciardo, who eventually opted to leave Red Bull after being challenged by Max Verstappen.

“It can go one of two ways [for him]: either George Russell can do a Nico Rosberg and go from 2015 to 2016 and make a step up and take the fight for the world championship, and win the world championship in the following year, having been pretty beaten up this year,” Chandhok said.

“Or he could end up in a Daniel Ricciardo situation where he was the established number one in the team, had this young pup Max Verstappen arrive, a generational talent in that Red Bull team, and in the end, he opted to leave,” Chandhok added.

While Russell has pointed to a season beset with issues and just six clean weekends, Chandhok said that Antonelli won the championship because he was the faster Mercedes driver in the team’s fastest car, combined with Russell experiencing more bad luck.

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