Former Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone believes there is little reason for fans to get excited ahead of the new season, which begins in Australia on Sunday.

The 87-year-old was ousted as CEO at the beginning of last year and replaced by Chase Carey as Liberty Media completed their takeover as majority shareholders.

Since then, he has often aired his grievances with the changes and ambitions of the American owners, that despite still holding the title of chairman emeritus on the F1 board.

On the track too, Ecclestone believes only one man is destined to become champion this season and the fans know it.

“Let’s be realistic: F1 is no longer as fascinating as it was or as it should be,” he was quoted by Fox Sports.

“Who do you think is going to win the title this year? Hamilton, of course! A lot can obviously happen, but for the public, there is no doubt.

“So why would they be excited to go to a race? They’ll just watch it on TV, and think that whatever happens, in the end, Lewis will win.”

2018 has also seen several significant and controversial changes both sporting and commercial, the most talked about being the introduction of Halo and the axing of grid girls.

"That Halo, how can one present things as an exact science, and therefore suggest that the proposed solutions are foolproof? It doesn’t make any sense," Ecclestone said.

"It implies that F1 is less dangerous today, and therefore less fascinating and appealing to some people, those who go to the circus to watch the acrobats fall."

As for the grid girls: "The grid girls ban did not seem like a brilliant idea," he added.

The big political story set to dominate 2018 is the negotiations over a new Concorde Agreement which will come into effect in 2021.

It was an engine proposal for that year which triggered Ferrari to issues a quit threat, although efforts to also address the financial inequality between the team is also causing a rupture.

Ecclestone defended the $100 million bonus F1's most famous team receives and Liberty wants to end and warned the current bosses not to take their threat lightly.

"It was a prize for participation because Ferrari has always been there. I never gave anything away, when I gave something there was always a reason," he told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"[Chairman Sergio] Marchionne is someone who, when he says something, he does it and does not look back. Liberty should be careful about what they do."