What you need to know about the tragedy of the falling mirror in Qatar F1

The Qatar Grand Prix Formula 1and also the fight for the Manufacturers' World Cup, overturned when the right side mirror Alex Albon flew away from his Williams and landed on the runway. The initial management of the situation by the Race Direction caused the penalty of a 10-second “stop and go” for Lando Norris (for not slowing down with a double yellow flag), and took him from fighting for victory to fighting for a single point.

In addition, When Valtteri Bottas He hit the rearview mirror and scattered debris along the finish line, causing punctures and forcing the safety car to come out, which ultimately affected the final result.. The incident and the way it spiraled out of control led the FIA ​​to give a brief explanation as to why it had acted in this way, alleging Do not remove either the virtual safety car or the real safety car to allow the stewards to remove the part.

“Normal practice is that the safety car is not deployed if there is a small amount of debris on the track and off the course,” the Federation said. “A VSC would not have been a solution, as the cars remain scattered and there is not enough time for a marshal to evacuate the remains. [el retrovisor]“.

But this minimization of the remains of the one remaining on the track seems contradict the way the incident was initially handledand above all the fact that it was decided that the mirror would require a double yellow flag instead of a single one.

According to the FIA ​​International Code of Sport, there is notable differences between the type of incident that requires a single yellow flag and that which requires a double. The regulations establish that, for a single flag, pilots must: “Reduce your speed, do not overtake and be prepared to change direction“.

“There is danger next to or in part of the track. It must be obvious that a driver reduced their speed; This means that it is likely that you braked earlier and/or significantly reduced your speed in this area.

For a double yellow flag, the requirements are much heavier: “[El piloto debe] Significantly reduce your speed, do not overtake, and be prepared to change direction or stop. There is a danger of completely or partially blocking the track and/or marshals working on or near the track.“.

The first treatment of the incident, emphasizing its seriousness, with a double yellow flag, appears to be disagreeing both with the nature of being a small mirror on the track and with the fact that the situation was later considered safe enough enough to make the yellow flags completely disappear.

So, as some in the paddock have suggested, or the initial double yellow flag was an overreaction -which had major consequences for Norris in terms of the extent of his sanction-, or the fact that The presence of the mirror was minimized enough for the race to continue later, suggesting that the subsequent response was not as strong as necessary..

This weekend in Abu Dhabi, the drivers risk putting pressure on the new Formula 1 race director, Rui Marquesto get answers on this yellow flag incident and, above all, clarify what remains on track is necessary to justify a double yellow and what should be the usual practice in these cases.

The influence of pianos in Qatar F1

The other critical aspect of the drama in Losail was whether or not there would be a definitive answer to the real cause of Albon's car's side mirror falling off. Sometimes they fail due to damage or old parts, but some questions have been raised as to what caused the problem on the Williams and whether it was a failure of the parts or the result of the problem pianos. of Qatar.

While efforts to round the tops of the pyramid's edges on the track have helped prevent a repeat of the problems that marred the 2023 race, The drivers continued to race, trampling on them a lot. It is possible that the high-frequency vibrations that cars and tires are subjected to under high load when driving on sidewalks have eventually fatigued the rearview mirror.which will once again raise doubts about its design at Losail.

And Pirelli is still seeking definitive answers as to whether the tire failures they suffered Lewis Hamilton And Carlos Sainz They were caused by debris left behind by the rearview mirror or another cause, such as pianos. The Spaniard said it was not definitive whether his incident was caused by the rear-view mirror.since his tire didn't give way until almost a lap after first going through the wreck.

“I think it was a bit of a perfect storm,” he said. “I think everyone still had a little tread on the left front tire. This obviously exposes the tire and casing to a puncture. Then, sharp edges, gravel on the track, debris… The cause of the puncture could have been any of them. we will never know“.

Sainz probably speaks for many drivers in suggesting that there are a number of outstanding questions over which We need to think about how the race management handled the situation at Losail.

When asked if he was perhaps trying to cover both F1 and Formula 2 It was an excessive effort for the organization in Qatar, Sainz commented: “I don't think it's a matter of covering these categories or not. But I hope that, obviously, the Race Direction will do a little analysis of what could have been done better in this race.because this is clearly a situation we want to avoid in the future.