George Russell has conceded to being wary of Adrian Newey's "pretty spectacular" debut car with Aston Martin, but has warned that F1's new era is not about the sexiest design.
Following a delay in revealing its car, waiting until the final hour of the penultimate day of the five days of last week's pre-season test in Barcelona, Aston Martin and Newey finally showed their hand.
After joining Aston Martin in May last year, following 19 years with Red Bull, F1's greatest designer focused solely on the major regulation changes for this season, and developing a car to finally propel Aston Martin to the front.
Newey's AMR26 caught the eye and raised eyebrows in equal measure, given the fundamental differences in design compared to cars from other teams seen on track over the previous few days.
Russell, whose Mercedes team topped the lap-count chart with its W17, as he and team-mate Kimi Antonelli accounted for 502 laps, was one of those left impressed, although he also sounded a note of caution.
"The Aston Martin was probably the most standout in terms of the car design," said Russell, speaking to select media, including RacingNews365.
"I think everybody was looking at that rear suspension, and obviously, visually it looks very impressive, but it's not a competition of how sexy it is.
"It's a competition of how fast it goes around the track. People always look towards the fastest car, and we'll find that out in Melbourne. Whoever that is, that will be the car that you wish to try and take inspiration from."
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Russell wants 'best-case scenario'
It was clear from the test at the Circuit de Catalunya that, despite the rules overhaul, the big names appear to be those at the head of affairs.
Russell is relishing the prospect of a multi-way championship battle, should it head in that direction.
"The best case scenario for the sport, and also for the drivers, is that you've got a number of different drivers and a number of different teams all battling it out," said Russell.
"At the moment, it does look like Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and ourselves are, let's say, the four teams that are all quite close to one another.
"But you can't discount what you've seen from Aston Martin, and what Adrian has done with that car. It looks pretty spectacular.
"And Honda, over the past few years with Red Bull, have had a very good engine beneath them, so we also know what they're capable of, so it would be awesome to see a big fight.
"I remember 2010 when the McLarens, Fernando and the Red Bulls were all fighting. That's what the sport is about, and that's what we hope it will be about."
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Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes and Nick Golding, as they look back on last week's five-day F1 test in Barcelona. McLaren's upgrade strategy is discussed, as is Aston Martin grabbing much attention with its striking AMR26.
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