Before his shock retirement announcement, Nico Rosberg was given clearance at Mercedes' factory in Brackley to check out the team's 2017 challenger.
And what the reigning world champion saw was mighty impressive to his eyes, although it failed to entice him to remain a Grand Prix driver.
"For the eye, it looks great, it's going to be enjoyable for them to drive, it will be faster," was the German's initial reaction.
"It will shuffle things up as every team has to start from scratch, it's not an evolution, it's a revolution. Every team starts from zero on a blank sheet of paper to build this car, it'll be exciting to see who's fastest."
With the top teams starting design and development almost a year in advance, Mercedes new car was obviously in an advanced stage when Rosberg discovered it.
"In November, I had the opportunity to see a model of the future car in the wind-tunnel. I therefore got a detailed look of what it will look like, and it was really impressive."
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