conspiracy theorists better stay on RB media

You're right. This car does definitely not have zero side pods, Mercedes style. If this is the version that appears on track.

Calling RB20 as mimicking the Merc is quite a stretch.

Don't forget the site where you are. They didn't write "Hamilton's Mercedes" this time, which is already an achievement. Definitely moving into the right direction.

Couldn't agree more.
Especially with all these comments from all the high level, high tech engineers with inside knowledge here.

These 'sausages' are there primarily to conduct outside airflow. I'm sure though, they've made good use of the room within. Cooling however, has not been a Red Bull problem last year.

Let's see how fast it is first

What exactly is RBR going to make it work but the Mercs couldn’t?
Surely not the zeropod??? Because what’s on the rb20 is a big fat horizontal sidepod, with possibly a vertical inlet underneath; not even close to the zeropod!!!

So what then? The big fat ugly ‘sausages’ on the engine cover then? Possibly rbr had not choice here because they need cooling to compensate for narrowing their sidepod inlets?!

It was a good design idea but the couldn't get it alright but Newey's team will make it working.

Problem of Mercedes was the zero side pod concept isn't bad bit rather very good BUT you need the right suspension to make it work. My feeling was that Red Bull could make that working with their suspension.

And it seems the designteam thinks it was a good idea. We will see how good this concept will work during testing.

I can imagine the Mercedes engineers feeling gutted right now.

I believe Mercedes sacrificed quite a bit to get those pods including exhaust temps and engine performance. Usually you like to keep moving forward, but the zero side pod dilema was too many steps in all kinds of directions and the guys in charge of engineering the system as a whole didn't have a clue what was going on, or were too busy trying to hide that fact.

Do I remember one year when the car redbull launched was not the same as the one at the first test?

So lets just wait till the first test gets going.

By the way, I think the physics is against the Mer’s zero pod concept.

Red Bull likely have horizontal inlet (from the real videos I have seen) and not an inlet that uses the SIS as a mirror trick. Secondly the primary similarities are with the cannons I see. Which is certainly interesting. The RB car pioneered the huge undercut last year which was absent in the Merc cars till now.

I think RB have evolved one more round certainly with input from Mercedes design, but they evolved even last year with input from Aston Alpine Williams.