Whitmarsh believes a rethink is needed about mirror rules in Formula 1
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh believes Formula 1 chiefs may need to look into the rules regarding mirror dimension, following the latest clash between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa
Hamilton claimed that he could not see Massa behind him as they ran into each other at the chicane at Suzuka.
And, on the back of a similar collision between Hamilton and Kamui Kobayashi in Belgium this year, rear view visibility could now be a big enough issue for action to be taken.
Whitmarsh says that big progress has been made in improving mirrors over the years, but he suggests that perhaps F1 teams should look at doing more.
"By comparison to the old school of 20 years ago, they are big," said Whitmarsh. "But in terms of vibration, probably we don't do enough.
"If you talk to any driver going along the straight, they are not great. Normally you will see them for picking out colour: 'there is a piece of colour behind me that means there is another car'. Maybe it is something we have to look at.
"I think Lewis was distracted at the time, he knew he had a puncture, and he knew he was nursing a car, so I think you can always have bigger mirrors, you can always have better mirrors, you can always have better positioned mirrors and you can always be more attentive to using mirrors. But it is one of those things."
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments