New year, new season, new rules. And to top it all off, Formula One has new owners - Liberty Media. What I want to see is teams who can genuinely challenge the dominant Mercedes team. Let's have real, sustained competition across the grid.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg won a total of 19 out of 21 races last year, the other two being won by Red Bull. But a team or three to redefine that lopsided competition would breathe new life into the sport.

The best F1 seasons are those that encompass great rivalries and much in the manner of Alain Prost and the late Ayrton Senna, the quality of competition between Hamilton and Rosberg provided the central focus of seasons past.

The unexpected retirement of Rosberg has changed the entire dynamic of the sport. But surely - given the right engineering and aerodynamics - Hamilton's main challengers this season will be Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.

The new designs this year could well be yet another technical triumph for Red Bull, but Ferrari have a considerable amount of ground to make up after a disappointing 2016 season.

Apart from race planning, tyre strategy will be an even bigger component this season. In addition, Liberty Media will be all too aware that a hard-fought season between drivers from more than one team will provide crucial impetus for a sporting spectacle that is continuing to suffer from a downturn in TV audiences.

Bring it on, I say.