Formula 1 technical directors have been convened to a special meeting with the FIA at the Hungarian Grand Prix to discuss potential changes to F1 rear view mirrors in order to improve the visibility of the drivers.
Drivers regularly complain of poor rear visibility on the track, and it is in this context that the FIA calls the technical directors to the circuit of Hongaroring in a fortnight to discuss the possibilities that can be introduced on this subject in 2019 season.
At the British Grand Prix last weekend, Mercedes has already tested a prototype rearview mirror to collect data on a new location.
The new rearview mirror was mounted just below the one usually mounted on the car to provide a reference point for the driver and to get a better idea of visibility.
Speaking to media, head of single-seater technical matters, Nikolas Tombazis, told FIA has indicated that the design of any supports should be approved by the governing body to avoid any potential legality issues.
“For the sake of completeness, I would re-iterate our previously expressed position that the mirror mountings must have a primary purpose of structurally supporting the mirrors, and any aerodynamic benefit should be incidental.” Tombazis said.
“I would suggest that the new mirror position stipulated above lends itself to a sensible mounting to the side pod, and would encourage teams to send images of their proposed new designs in order to avoid unnecessary discussions.” Tombazis added.
Tombazis added that the evolution of current car designs had meant that the upper surface of the sidepod and the lower regions of the rear wing were blocking out vision at the rear.
However, the 50-year-old man suggested that the growing trend for high rake cars had made mirrors much less effective in showing drivers what was going on behind him.
A potential change in the location of mirrors would provide the FIA with the opportunity to re-examine the directive introduced after the Monaco Grand Prix with regard to the Halo rear view mirror brackets, which have already been the subject of much publicity.
Ferrari’s controversial Halo-mounted wing mirrors have been under scrutiny since they appeared at the Spanish Grand Prix. However, the controversial design has not yet been banned for future races.
