F1 teams fear 'mirror war' and meet for emergency meeting

During the winter tests, Mercedes caused a stir with its controversial design. In addition to the lack of sidepods, the silver-pillared mirrors also caught the eye. On Tuesday, Formula One teams will meet to discuss these mirrors and their legality to avoid a "mirror war," reports Motorsport.com.

Mirrors no aerodynamic function

The mirrors of the W13, the new car of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, stood out because of the small wings mounted under the mirror. According to Formula 1 regulations, the mirrors are not allowed to have an aerodynamic function on the car. In fact, mirrors are not officially part of the car's bodywork.

Mercedes' current design seems to officially fall within the rules, but F1 teams are afraid it could lead to a "mirror war" with increasingly innovative designs. That is something the teams want to avoid, so the matter will be discussed in a specially called emergency meeting on Tuesday, 15 March.

Room for interpretation of regulations

FIA Formula Cars boss Nikolas Tombazis says that there is indeed room for interpretation within the regulations. According to him, Mercedes have cleverly exploited the space to designate certain parts of the bodywork as mirror mounts so that the elements are judged differently.

It is now up to the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) to judge Mercedes' design, but Tombazis does not think that Mercedes' design will be banned. However, the regulations for 2023 will be worded differently to prevent even more extreme concepts.