Ferrari removes winglets from Halo after FIA ruling

Ferrari has removed the controversial winglets from the Halo on its SF71H Formula 1 car following the FIA’s ruling that they were not being used for structural purposes in conjunction with the mirrors on its car.

Ferrari became the first team to mount the mirrors of its car to the Halo cockpit proctection device ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend, adding a winglet above each mirror with a thin cable joining the two.

The team claimed the winglet was in place to limit the amount of vibration for the mirrors, but the FIA deemed it to be a “liberal” interpretation of the rules that did offer some aerodynamic gain, resulting in a clampdown for the Monaco weekend.

In the first paddock shots coming out of Monaco on Wednesday, the Ferrari car was being pieced together without the winglets above the mirrors on the Halo. However, the mirrors were still attached to the Halo via a solitary mount.

“We sent a TD a few weeks ago now in response to a number of questions from other teams about whether or not the principle of mounting a mirror on the Halo was acceptable,” FIA race director Charlie Whiting explained in Spain following the race.

“We answered yes it was, and we gave a few stipulations, one that is has to be a mounting. It’s just a matter of interpretation. We feel [Ferrari’s design is] something that is such a tenuous interpretation really, it’s not something that we’re happy with.”

The revised Ferrari design will hit the track for the first time on Thursday during FP1.