From the moment they appeared in Barcelona it was clear, even to the most casual observer, that the mounts for the mirrors fitted to the Halo device on the SF71-Hs were not there merely to hold said mirrors in place.

Over the course of the weekend, with rival teams having made their feelings clear, the FIA told Ferrari that while the mounts could remain for the rest of the weekend, there were not to be seen again.

In a bid to clarify its position with regard to rear view mirror mountings, the FIA has issued the following directive:

"Whilst the FIA accepts that teams will legitimately design the mirrors, housings and mountings to minimise any negative aerodynamic effects they may cause, we believe that any aerodynamic benefits should be incidental, or at least minimal," it reads.

"In order to ensure this is the case all mountings must:

a) Provide a meaningful structural contribution to the mounting system. If you use more than one mounting you may be asked to satisfy us, by way of a physical test, to demonstrate this.

b) Be mounted to the lower and/or inboard surface(s) of the mirror housing.

"As the criteria for determining the eligibility of a mounting are to some extent subjective, the FIA would be available to discuss the legality of a new design before you introduce it in a race, to avoid wasting resource, time or money. For the sake of clarity, the various provisions made in TD/014-18 still apply for halo-mounted mirrors. The FIA expect to have full compliance with the present technical directive by the next race.

"The FIA do acknowledge that the rules currently in force with regard to mirrors are not perfect, and will strive to propose a more complete set of rules in terms of mirror position, mountings, visibility, etc. in the near future, with the aim to get a unanimous support for such changes for 2019."

Speaking at the weekend, the FIA's technical boss, Nicholas Tombazis, said: "Mirrors are nasty aerodynamic shapes and teams would ideally want to not have any mirrors at all.

"Clearly there is a regulation regarding mirrors to be in certain positions," he continued, "a certain range of positions and have a certain amount of visibility.

"So when a team comes forward and says 'we want to mount it here' it is because they feel it's going to be a bit better aerodynamically. We have no doubt about that. So, that includes Halo-mounting as well.

"It is our responsibility to make sure the rules are specific enough - and we hope to make improvements also in the future - to make sure the mirrors achieve their real function, which is to be able to see at the back, and to stop them being used for aerodynamic purposes. But as long as there's some big device somewhere in the middle of the air, teams will always worry about its aerodynamic effect, so it's our responsibility to regulate it properly."

Which begs the question; if the FIA is having a problem policing mirror mounts, what are the chances of it keeping on top of a budget cap?

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Schnauzers, 19/05/2018 16:36

"Would it not be simpler if the FIA regulation stated "Mirrors must be large enough and so positioned that there is absolutely no excuse for a driver to claim "I didn't see him"? Never mind any aerodynamic influences....."

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2. Posted by nonickname, 17/05/2018 15:58

"The Corvette team has, for a few years had a camera that shows the cars behind, closing spied and what side they are on. And the morons who run F1 still want mirrors. Why not wooden wheels?? The pinnacle of motor sport F1 is not.
Three cheers for the Toad, sorry Todd"

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3. Posted by Yeyox02, 17/05/2018 15:31

"What Ferrari is doing is testing FIA and Tombazis not the mirrors."

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FIA clarifies its position on mirror mountings

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