Michael Schumacher has offered a crumb of comfort to his rivals by admitting that his domination of the world championship last season was a "one-off".
The German won a record 11 races for Ferrari as he romped to a fifth drivers' crown but insists he will not be able to repeat the extraordinary exploits.
Schumacher reckons that Williams-BMW and McLaren-Mercedes will close the gap in 2003 making for some exciting battles on the track.
"I knew in Suzuka that this was the last race of a marvellous season, which we certainly won't see the likes of again," said Schumacher whose victory in Japan last October ensured he finished every grand prix of the 17-race campaign on the podium.
"You simply can't repeat that, it was a one-off. Next season, our main competitors McLaren-Mercedes and BMW-Williams will certainly have caught up, and there'll be some exciting fights between the three of us.
"I'm looking forward to it!"
Schumacher set a clutch of Formula One records as he raced to that record-equalling fifth championship with six races to spare.
The 33-year-old's victory tally broke the mark of nine he shared with Britain's Nigel Mansell in 1992.
Schumacher finished with 144 points - smashing the record he set the previous year - while his winning margin over second-placed team-mate Rubens Barrichello of 67 points also broke the mark he established just 12 months before.
The Swiss-based racer's prediction that next season will be much tougher will be a huge boost to the sport's bosses following Ferrari's massive superiority in 2002.
Barrichello also won four races as the team triumphed a record-equalling 15 times though the domination and the way they manipulated the result in Austria sparked a television turn-off.
F1 chiefs have reacted to the declining interest by making changes to the qualifying rule in 2003 hoping it will spice up the grid.
But there are fears that the one-lap only qualifying rule will play into the hands of Schumacher and his ability to be right on the pace straight away.
The points system has also been changed with the top eight drivers instead of the top six now awarded points with the difference between first and second just two points instead of four.
The belief is that this will ensure it takes a driver longer to win the championship though last year it would have delayed Schumacher's coronation by just one grand prix.
PA