Monisha Kaltenborn says it would be better if Ferrari rather than Mercedes was dominating formula one.
"Of course it would be better if several teams were to fight for the title," the Sauber team chief told German radio Deutschlandfunk.
But she said it is not Mercedes’ fault that it simply aced the new ’power unit’ regulations that began in 2014.
"It was especially thanks to an excellent engine," said Kaltenborn, "but also a good aerodynamic package. But it’s not good if there is dominance.
"If Ferrari was dominating, I think that would not hurt the sport as much. Ferrari has so many fans and the number of spectators would still be high."
The bad news, she insisted, is that even though the aerodynamic and tyre rules are changing for 2017, the engine rules are basically staying the same.
"This (2017) is an opportunity for all the teams who have a certain development possibility to approach Mercedes," said Kaltenborn.
"But it will probably take another two years for the manufacturers to get close to the Mercedes engine."
And she also has doubts about whether the 2017 rules, designed to make F1 faster and more spectacular, will achieve those aims.
"I have expressed my doubts from the outset," said the Sauber team boss.
"The fact that the cars will be faster and be harder to drive will not be noticed by the spectator," she said.
"If the difference would be 10 or 15 seconds per lap, they would notice it, but not if it is five or six seconds. So I’m concerned about that."