Hamilton favourite for 2016 F1 title: Heidfeld

Mercedes’ Hamilton won the Formula 1 drivers’ championship in 2014 and 2015 and looks strong for this year’s championship too. German Heidfeld, who raced in F1 from 2000 to 2011, feels Hamilton is likely to win his fourth title but would like to see someone else give the Briton some competition. 

“I would hope that we see some more teams doing well. We have not seen any testing yet. 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 told IANS at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) here. 

“Ferrari did very well last season. Now Renault are back and they should be more of a front-runner. I doubt if they would do fantastic in their first year but they have shown in the past by winning many championships; they would definitely be a contender. Also, if they move up on engine technology, we all know that Red Bull has always had one of the best chassis so they could be (up) there again.” 

After a 12-year career at the pinnacle of motor sport, the German moved to sports car racing and currently takes part in the new Formula E Championship, driving for Mahindra Racing.  

The Switzerland resident, who holds the record for the most podium finishes in F1 (13) without a Grand Prix win, was on his first visit to India and said that his friends had warned him about a couple of things before visiting.