During the Mexican race weekend, the FIA informed the teams that the black-and-orange flag rule would no longer apply from this stage on certain occasions.
These flags show the driver whose car has suffered mechanical damage that poses a danger to both himself and other participants in the race, signaling that he must stop in his team’s pits on the next lap. If the team fixes the problem, the rider can return to the track, but only after the FIA representative has recognized it as usable.
FIA Technical Director Nicolas Tombasis informed all participants of the race that from now on the black and orange flags will not be displayed in three cases: if the front wing end plate is broken – provided that the horizontal elements, ie the main surfaces are not damaged; if small aerodynamic elements are damaged, especially the wings on the air ducts of the brakes; if the mirrors are damaged.
If the Director has any doubts, the team must confirm that the malfunction is not dangerous. If the team believes that the damaged element cannot cause problems, but problems still occur, it is followed by a penalty.
“Nobody will leave a car on the track if they have a broken rear fender. We can estimate exactly what constitutes a hazard because we know the design features of all components,” said Andy Stevenson, Aston Martin team manager. “And small parts, including the front fender or transom end plates, are not dangerous.
Their influence is insignificant and it has often happened that such details fell off, but no one paid attention to this. But none of the teams will knowingly take any risks knowing that some structural elements of the structure are damaged.
The FIA clarification received by the teams clarifies that if the rear-view mirror falls off without any external impact, the driver must return to the pits, as in this case there is a risk that the break was caused by a design flaw. If the mirror is broken as a result of contact with other cars or other external influences, the rider can continue to move.
Source: F1 News
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