Lewis Hamilton thinks up to five teams might be able to fight for race wins this campaign, which would see Formula 1 fans treated to one of the most exciting seasons in years.
Of course, Hamilton will be satisfied simply if his Mercedes team is back in the fight. Having won the constructors' championship in the previous eight years, 2022 was a near write-off for the Silver Arrows who managed just one win, in the penultimate race.
He is hopeful that will be the case, that he will be competing for wins against Ferrari and Red Bull this year. On top of that, the Brit thinks it's possible their trio could be joined by Alpine and McLaren if the latter pair make a big enough step this winter.
"I'd like to think that we're going to be the ones that are competing with [Red Bull] and being able to beat them again," said the seven-time world champion.
"I do believe that for sure. But I really hope that Ferrari are strong in the following years. They've definitely had a difficult year but there's been some strong signs, obviously, that you've seen this year, which has been nice to see. And it's been nice to see Ferrari doing well again.
"So, I hope that it's more than a two-way battle next year. I hope there's at least three of us. If not, surprisingly, maybe more. Like, why can't McLaren be there? We'll see. Or even Alpine have been doing amazing. So, we'll see."
Retired British racer David Coulthard agrees with the opinion that Ferrari and Mercedes will both be in the fight with Red Bull over the coming season. "It feels like, if Ferrari get on top of their reliability and operational mistakes, then they're there. The transition of what these cars are going to become next year will be a lot easier," the Scot told Mirror Sport.
"Mercedes clearly have a quick car and look like they're going to be there. When Mercedes arrived at the beginning of the Hybrid Era, they had such a pace advantage. They really unleashed a great power unit and that allowed them to run more dirty downforce – the car didn't need to be so efficient in the beginning because they could just power their way through.
"Inevitably, they made the holy grail of not only a powerful engine but also a great car. When you put those two things together, with a brilliant driver, you've got that era of dominance that continues with the stability of regulations.
"I would like to believe that we are going to have a three-way title battle next year. As strong as Max [Verstappen] has been, we are where we are in the closing stages of the [2022] season which are the foundations of next year. So that, to me, feels like we're a lot closer than we were at the beginning of the year."
