Which cars have caught Adrian Newey's eagle eye?

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Design guru Adrian Newey has cast a glance at the 2017 field of new cars, with a few ideas arousing his interest.

The man who has penned more winning F1 cars than almost all other designers put together has embraced the sport's regulation overhaul, insists it's all about catering to one's ideas and needs rather than searching for the perfect design.

"Obviously when you have a new set of regulations you do get different solutions and what works on other peoples cars for example wouldn't necessarily work on ours," said the Red Bull Racing engineer.

"It's probably fair to say that over the coming weeks we will have a good look at other peoples cars and decide which bits are interesting and which we want to investigate for ourselves."

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In the interim, Newey has taken a keen interest inn Mercedes, Ferrari and Toro Rosso's 2017 designs.

"In particular the Mercedes looks like a complicated car, it's got a lot of parts on it which will be about trying to manipulate the vortices to position the flow structures around the car.

"The Ferrari has a complicated looking sidepod which I have not quite managed to work out yet from the pictures I have seen.

"Mercedes and Toro Rosso have gone for a higher top wishbone which I would imagine is aimed at trying to get the bottom wishbone higher and trying to get the top wishbone higher and to clean up the brake duct area, those are probably the main areas I have seen that are a little bit different."

Newey insisted however that it's still early days before a specific idea is identified as a 'must-have' solution for all.

"One fundamental architectural difference is the front suspension arrangement that Mercedes and Toro Rosso have adopted.

"Whether that is a fundamental advantage that the rest of us will end up copying in coming seasons is impossible to say for us, because we don't know if it's something that will work on our car or not."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.