Williams technical chief Pat Symonds says Red Bull has played a key role in determining what 2017's new cars will look like.

The revised regulations for next year include wider front and rear wings and fatter tyres, with the overall aim of significantly slashing lap times. The new rules centre around a compromise tabled by McLaren after Red Bull's initial proposals were watered down.

However, Symonds says the finer details of the new cars have been "styled" along the lines of Red Bull suggestions.

"I do think the cars look nice," Symonds told Autosport. "When we first started talking about the 2017 cars, I was worried because there was this real drive for a retro look. 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 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."

The previous two regulation overhauls, in 2009 and 2014, led to a shake up of the pecking order. Rivals are hoping the new cars will break Mercedes' recent hegemony and move the emphasis away from engines, though the world champions have also excelled on the aerodynamic side since its dominance began in 2014.