Mercedes deserves its success - Coulthard

That is the view of former Formula One driver David Coulthard, who reckons the sport should be rewarding the best.

The Scot fears, however, that with Mercedes dominating from so early on in the season, the rest of the championship will not have the same interest for the fans.

"Formula One, at any given point, was always about the best engineers, mechanics, budgets, drivers coming together," Coulthard told Motorsport.com.

"Williams had it many years ago, and Ferrari, and McLaren for a period of time, and Red Bull. Right now it's Mercedes.

"They deserve to reap the benefits of their work.

"But what we know from 1988 or from Michael [Schumacher]'s period is that there has to be an element of feeling like someone else is in the race.

"In recent years with Red Bull at least Alonso could have won the championship, Mark [Webber] could have won the championship, so it was more than one team that was in the battle for the championship, except for one of the years.

"From very early on last year you knew a Mercedes driver would win, and I think it's the same this year.

"We all need competition to really feel that we are being entertained. If people don't find interesting, they won't watch," Coulthard added.

F1 should not try to save the planet

Coulthard reckons the sport has taken a turn for the worse with the introduction of the current engine technology, as he feels it is not up to Formula One to be a 'green' sport.

He believes the regulations should be aimed at having a full and competitive grid.

"I think maybe the sport is trying too hard to save the planet," he said.

"One grand prix season burns less fuel that one transatlantic flight, so the fuel usage in Formula One is not really going to save the planet.

"Developing technology in Formula One will accelerate those technologies, but at the expense of having a full grid, because from five million engines to 20 million engines... 15 million is a lot of money in anybody's book.

"So I think we have to be a little bit careful that Formula One doesn't try to save the world through rules and regulations and what it does do is be more relevant, be the pinnacle of motorsport and be as competitive as possible in any elite sport."