First look: Aston Martin F1 mirror upgrade for Bahrain test

The team has installed a new wing mirror design, which appears to be influenced by some of the designs we’ve already seen elsewhere, whereby the outermost mirror stay (red arrow) acts as a flow conditioner to help reinforce the outwash being created by the angular bluff body of the sidepod below.

Meanwhile, the other ‘mirror stay’ also serves as an aerodynamic appendage (blue arrow), this time framing the main wing mirror body in order to smooth the airflow’s transit around it.

It’s unclear at this stage if these were planned upgrades or whether they’re simply a function of the Aston Martin monitoring their rivals and quickly assimilating the design in a way that suits its own needs.

We’ve already seen this rapid appropriation in play, as Ferrari has admitted that it noted the double splitter winglet and snowplow on the AMR22 at its launch. Ferrari had a workable version on its car for its own launch just a week later, having put the solution through the rigors of CFD, the wind tunnel and manufactured a physical version.

Mercedes W13 wing mirrors support detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

In terms of the new wing mirror and stalk design on the Aston Martin, we need look no further than the Mercedes to see where that inspiration may have come from, with the sidepod skirt-stay (red arrow, below) the most obvious aspect shared between the two.

However, the W13 also features a winglet-like surround for the mirror body, albeit that wraps around the top edge, rather than the bottom of the assembly.