Back to inboard mirrors, but are they any better?

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As of the Chinese GP, outboard mirrors attached to the sidepod panels are banned by the FIA. The design was introduced by Ferrari in 2006 but have eventually found unsafe. It was argued that with the wide position, drivers had to rotate their head to get a clear look, while the position of the mirrors themselves could reduce visibility and increase the blind spot, an important cause for collisions.

The sudden ban however raises questions as to why the governing body have not acted sooner. It was obvious that as soon as teams started to copy Ferrari, some incidents could have been avoided with the traditional, inboard mirror positions. And since they could have known, why not ban them before the start of the season, when regulations are still being set up.

Anyway, we're back to good old regular mirrors, but the image taken from the rear of this year's Renault shows there may still be issues to resolve. Even though there is a mandatory test to check if drivers can see behind their car, Renault's current mirror position somehow voids the minimum dimension specification of mirrors. Nearly half of the sight area is shaded by the car's shoulder bodywork.

As discussions are now well underway to set rules for next year, it could be a good time to improve the rear visibility test.




Comments

By fenix4life on 08-05-2010 at 14:54

I don't really agree with the fact that half is covered with the bodywork. THe mirrors aren't positioned to look directly behind the car but more in an angle. In that case the bodywork isn't a problem


By Steven on 10-05-2010 at 12:11

They are actually. The test for rear view only checks if drivers can read a panel held behind the car. That was also perfectly visible with the outboard mirrors.
Also note that Red Bull have positioned their rear view mirrors quite a bit higher than Renault, just because of the issue of blocking rear view with bodywork.


By utranel on 10-05-2010 at 17:55

Sorry but i not agree! The first outboard mirrors were introduced by Renault with the R27! Am I doing a mistake? I don't think so http://techno-science.net/illustration/ ... -R27-1.jpg


By Saribro on 10-05-2010 at 18:53

Ferrari got there 1 year earlier with the 248F1 (2006), the R27 is a 2007 car.



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