10/09/2016
NEWS STORY
As fans - and the sport's supremo - struggled to come to terms with the changes to the sport in 2014, particularly the engine formula, much was subsequently made of the changes to the aero rules for 2017.
While many wanted a return to the days of wider cars, bigger wings and fat tyres - along with previous incarnations of the engine formula - there were concerns that this might be a step too far.
Red Bull, where Adrian Newey, a forward thinker yet traditionalist, still rules the roost had its original proposals turned down, many feeling they were a bit too radical, and as a result the sport settled on the compromise offered by McLaren.
Nonetheless, Williams technical boss Pat Symonds says much of Red Bull's original input has been retained and fans will like what they see.
"I do think the cars look nice," he told Autosport. "When we first started talking about the 2017 cars, I was worried because there was this real drive for a retro look and a retro look wouldn't have done anything.
"But I really pat Red Bull on the back for doing a great job in styling the car because what they did was take away what the Strategy Group had asked for and they really styled it.
"They started with this premise that we want the car to look like it's going fast even when it's stationary," he revealed, "and I thought' yeah, that's a really nice way of expressing it'.
"They've come up with something that looks great. When you see the physical model in the windtunnel, and windtunnel cars never look particularly attractive, I think they are good-looking cars."
As race attendance numbers continue to fall, along with TV viewing figures, let's hope he's right and that the cars not only look good but produce a basic shake-up of the order.