Formula One's managing director of motorsport Ross Brawn says F1 cars of the future will look "sensational" in their design and should resemble futuristic video games.
F1 is currently evaluating how to make cars look and sound better to tie-in with the next big regulation overhaul, which is set to take place in 2021. From the upcoming season, F1 cars will feature the controversial Halo cockpit protection device, which has drawn criticism from fans, teams and drivers alike -- despite its added safety benefits.
Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton said the 2017 finale in Abu Dhabi was "the last race where the cars will look good", while the FIA has hit back at the negative claims, adding it expects the final Halo designs to look better than the initial prototype. But Brawn, who agrees the safety device currently looks like it has been "stuck on the car", insists plans for the next generation of F1 machinery look more aesthetically appealing.
"We've had designers working on the aesthetics of the cars for some time now and the aesthetics of the cars are a really important thing," he told Sky Sports. "I think we've done some great work on how you integrate the Halo, for instance, because it looks like it's just been stuck on the car -- which it quite literally has.
"It's obvious, but when you talk to the fans [they say] the cars have got to look great. They've almost got to look like derivatives of video games and evolve in a way where the video games take their key from Formula One, not the other way round."
For 2017, F1 introduced an overhaul to its aerodynamic rules in an attempt to make cars more aggressive-looking and attractive, which included the addition of wider Pirelli tyres. Brawn has promised the next step forward will head down a similar route to the futuristic concept designs that have been revealed by McLaren, Ferrari and Renault in recent years.
"I think they'll look sensational. We're going to have some great-looking cars in the future, that's a really important thing for us."