The new teams will need time before they can prove as competitive as their established rivals and Mercedes team boss Norbert Haug has urged his rivals to give the debutants respect.
While US F1 were forced to defer their entry into the sport for a year, Lotus, Virgin and Spanish HRT are all on course to make their debuts at this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix.
While Lotus and Virgin suffered a catalogue of problems in pre-season testing, Spanish HRT did not attend any of the sessions but Haug believes each of the teams deserve to be congratulated for making it to Bahrain.
"I think first of all we need to pay respect to these teams," Haug said. "It just shows it's not easy to come into Formula 1. This is a very competitive environment and I would say that you can have at least seven to eight teams that are very, very competitive this year.
"It's not only four teams. A team like Force India has improved a lot. Toro Rosso is still improving, so I think that is better than ever in Formula 1.
"But the new ones that are coming now need to make big steps but we should give them some time. I think it is a very good sign that new teams are coming amid difficult circumstances. It's not easy for them to find support and sponsorship money.
"I'm sure they worked very hard and my view is that I pay them a lot of respect. And of course they need to improve."