F1 veteran Nick Heidfeld has tipped Lewis Hamilton to take a third consecutive world championship in 2016.
But the former Williams and BMW driver said he hopes Mercedes can be successfully challenged this year, following two dominant showings in 2014 and 2015.
"I would hope that we see some more teams doing well," the 38-year-old German, now a Formula E driver, told the Indian news agency IANS.
"I would guess it will be Hamilton again taking the championship, but I would be happy if someone else does it for the sake of the sport, to make it more interesting," Heidfeld added.