Sorry if this has already been covered, but...
Looking at the positioning of the MP4-25's exhaust, it looks like there was some significant venturi action going on around the back of the car. The exhaust is placed at the back of the side pods, where air from both above and from around the sidepod meet, both would be a little sluggish at this point, threatening to become turbulent and separate.
Hot exhaust gasses at high velocity placed were they are, and directed backward probably have a siphon effect on the sluggish air, exciting it and keeping it moving backward (even better if there's a vortex coming of each pipe). It seems one of the major benefits of this placement is to simply smooth out flow at the back of the car, making it, in effect, more slippery. The cleaned up air exiting over the top of the diffuser then perhaps has a similar kind of siphoning effect on it, helping it work better and create more downforce. I.e., it's an active and dynamic air flow conditioner.
The messier or "chunkier" the sidepods and rear of the car, the more benefit this can bring you. Hence McLaren's suggestion that it could be worth .75s. Some of that 3/4s would likely also come from a higher top speed, having a more aerodynamic package. But all this also means there'll be a much more dramatic difference in air flow (and thus, downforce) between on-throttle and off-throttle air flow at the back of the car and to floor, bridge wings, and diffusers. Perhaps this explains the difficulties the Macca boys experienced when coming off the throttle.
It would be a natural progression in the "cleaning up" of the lower rear of the car by Newey, after introduction of the pull-rod. Wonder what's next...
Kelpster