It's definitely not a zero pod concept. At least not in the style of Mercedes. This is just a dark picture at a poor angle.

The sidepod inlet is definitely uniquely shaped and there is a very aggressive undercut, but there is also an obvious sidepod.

https://www.racefans.net/2024/02/15/first-pictures-red-bull-havent-been-conservative-as-they-reveal-2024-f1-car/oracle-red-bull-racing-rb20-car-launch-8/

I never understood the zeropods hate, Mercedes built the second fastest car but it looked different, so everyone immediately knew more than the people at Mercedes that said "We know why it's slow, and it's not the side pods"

Then they introduced an update that didn't make them faster than Red Bull, and immediately everyone goes "Ha! I told you it's the side pods!" And they were like "No, but fine, here's some side pods" and the car also didn't get any faster.

Why on earth does reddit and (I'm assuming lemmy) think that they know more than the people that design, build and understand the car?

Looks like RBR made some sort of 'hybrid' version of the 'zero pod' concept. The vertical radiator inlet is very much like what Mercedes had, but Newey did design very slim sidepods around it to create undercut.

Probably another rocket ship in a class on it's own. Newey...he's like the Albert Einstein of aero.

Newey builds rocket ships. It's what he does.

If Merc goes away from zero pod concept and Red Bull goes towards it ... would be hilarious. But I don't believe it, the renders probably simply are obscured