The one-piece pontoon mirrors are finished….. Soon

Following the Melbourne Grand Prix, some drivers went to meet Charlie Whiting, the race director. Indeed, many are complaining about a lack of visibility at the rear of the single-seaters. It is said that during the practice sessions and the qualifying session, some accidents were narrowly avoided. What is certain is that visibility is the cause of these incidents.

After consideration, the FIA’s board of directors stated that the one-piece pontoon mirrors must be banned for obvious safety reasons.

Thus, the official decision states that only mirrors installed on the driver’s cockpit will be considered compliant.

The FIA even stated that this decision should be applied for the Chinese GP which will take place on April 16th, 17th, and 18th.

Very quickly, the teams on the set stepped up, asserting that such changes could not be implemented so quickly.

On a technical level, it is easy to understand that some teams need time to modify their cars.

Indeed, despite the formal ban on the use of aerodynamic elements on the pontoons, some teams, like Ferrari and Red Bull, have managed to adapt the regulations to have mirrors with aerodynamic capabilities.

Faced with this backlash, the FIA is willing to compromise, without abandoning the idea altogether.

Thus, the teams will have until the Spanish GP (May 7, 8, and 9) to make these transformations on their cars.

It is important to note that the positioning of the mirrors on the cockpit could be accompanied by an enlargement of the dimensions of the mirrors used. This specification aims to meet the demand of some drivers who want, again, more visibility.