Austrian legend Niki Lauda hopes Formula One will be more competitive next year but he doesn’t long for the days of Hollywood movie ‘Rush’.

Lauda, whose rivalry with Britain’s James Hunt is depicted in the film, and who is badly scarred from a life-threatening crash in 1976, said Formula One was “not boring at all” nowadays but much, much safer.

“There are different drivers today because they need not to be worrying about getting killed,” he told reporters at the Indian Grand Prix.

“It’s much easier these days. It’s very safe but it’s not boring at all. It’s different to the old days but we cannot bring the old days back. It’s still very interesting no question.”

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel is on the verge of claiming his fourth straight world title in such dominant fashion that critics complain he is turning off spectators.

Lauda, non-executive chairman of the Mercedes team, said he hoped the championship would shape up differently next year when new rules usher in smaller, turbo-charged engines.

“Vettel is doing a great job. He has been dominating everything. To win a championship four times in a row for me is sensational,” said Lauda, 64. “But let’s hope there is more competition next year.”

He added: “F1 has certainly developed from my time in a big way. Next year it will be even better because we will have new cars and new engines. It’s going to be very interesting.”

Several innovations have helped Formula One establish a proud safety record with no deaths recorded since Ayrton Senna’s fatal accident at Imola in 1994.