here's my opinion of the new Mercedes:
It's crazy how slim the Mercedes has become. The side-boxes and the nose are tiny. Before the season, the motto was: less drag > more downforce. So far only Mercedes has realized this.
Plus the Mercedes is missing the "shark fin"
They try to generate downforce through the plate on the back. The slits conduct the air under the car to the "difusor". This is great, because the rear wing is a lot smaller/flatter this year, and otherwise they would have a huge lose of downforce and the rear would slide.
Because of the engine Mercedes has another big advantage. It seems like the size of the motor has been reduced and should need less cooling.
The car looks like it's just a rolling chassis, that is missing the engine. This car is unbelievable compact.
The airbag is very low. The driver helmet nearly covers 50% of it. So less air is coming in, which means less cooling of the components, but at the same time less drag.
The suspension is a dream too.
Compared to the other cars we have seen so far, they have failed and Mercedes has done a much better job.
I'm really excited to see the Red Bull (and it's my only hope for a competitor against this car).
If the Mercedes performs on track, like it does in theory, it's a masterpiece. This car has nearly no air drag at all.