Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff believes that F1's restrictive 2022 regulations will lead to only "slight variations" between the team's designs.
F1 will introduce next year its bold vision of the future, based on a radical new design philosophy that features a simpler approach to aerodynamics, a change destined to promote closer racing and to level the playing field among competitors.
The constrained nature of the new regulation platform has left little scope for innovation, a fact lamented by Red Bull design guru Adrian Newey who, earlier this year, called the new rules "a missed opportunity".
Wolff reckons that the major differentiation factor between next years' retro-looking cars will be their livery!
"I think you will get very slight variations on a theme," said the Austrian. "The regulations are so tight now that the variance between the cars will really be quite minimal.
"The differences will no doubt be under the skin of the car, which is kind of a shame, that we are going down a route where the shape is so constrained and it will be the livery that will be the biggest differentiator between the cars.
"They are kind of retro-looking. It sort of looks like a 1990s IndyCar, some of the stuff that Zak [Brown] has got a garage full of. I think the car looks pretty cool but it looks pretty retro."
Fans were given a glimpse into the potential aesthetics of next year's cars when F1 rolled out its profile model at Silverstone recently.
And McLaren boss Zak Brown says the model was a pretty good example of what is to expected, if one looked at it from 50 feet away.
"I’ve seen what ours looks like – it’s subtly different," commented Brown.
"What they showed is a pretty good representation if you’re going to be looking at the car from 50 feet away.
"Like all the Formula 1 cars, when you start looking into the detail you start to see all the differences.
"Obviously I didn’t see the car live, only visuals of it. Hopefully, it’s a better race car and it does what it’s intended to do in terms of making racing closer."
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