In the Portuguese F1 GP, Brembo brakes in action for 14 seconds

4/27/2021

Absolutely everything about brake use at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve and Brake-By-Wire in F.1 and on street-legal cars.

According to Brembo engineers, the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve falls into the category of circuits of medium difficulty for brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it was rated a 3, identical to the Barcelona track where races will be held in one week.

The F.1 cars made their début on this track last year. The frequent unevenness of the circuit can be a critical issue, due to the loss of grip that can have an impact on the braking system, although not severely.

Miniaturized BBW made by Brembo

Since 2014, when Brake-by-Wire (BBW) was introduced in Formula 1, Brembo has redesigned the rear part of its braking systems to create solutions that allow the brakes and energy recovery systems to coexist in the best possible way.

For 4 teams, Brembo manufactures different Brake-By-Wire components: the actuator for some, the valves and stiffness simulator for others. Development continues nonstop to miniaturize the various Brake-By-Wire parts as much as possible.

BBW for street-legal cars too

The use of BBW on street-legal cars constitutes an epic step for braking systems. It is a revolution for which Brembo has been preparing for twenty years with increasingly large investments in energy recovery and in weight and emissions reduction.

With Brembo BBW, the conventional architecture is replaced by an electronic control system. The system is developed for any vehicle and gives the driver various braking options to choose from, depending on his or her driving style. The unique thing about the Brembo solution is the individual brake actuator on each wheel, for smooth and continuous braking action.

To learn how Brake-By-Wire works, look here.

Braking distances never greater than 122 meters (400 feet)

The F.1 drivers use the brakes for just under 14 seconds per lap, which is 17 percent of total race time. In Barcelona, on the other hand, which is similar in length (just 22 meters/72 feet longer), the brakes are in action for almost a full second more, thanks to the presence of 8 braking sections, as compared to 7 on the Portuguese track.

Even though it has 15 turns, the brakes are used for more than 2 seconds only on 3 of them and, partly due to the high speeds the current F.1 cars reach on corners, in only one case does braking result in a drop in speed of at least 190 km/h (118 mph). The braking distances, on the other hand, are all between 83 and 122 meters (272 and 400 feet), while the load on the brake pedal ranges from a minimum of 83 kg (183 lbs) to a maximum of 135 kg (297.6 lbs).

A drop of 234 km/h (145.4 mph) in less than 3 seconds

Of the 7 braking sections at the Portuguese GP, 2 are classified as highly demanding on the brakes, 4 are of medium difficulty, and only one is light.

The most challenging one for the braking system is turn five: the single-seaters reach it at 318 km/h (197.6 mph) and then slow down to 84 km/h (52 mph) in just 122 meters (400 feet). To do this, drivers brake for 2.72 seconds, applying a force of 135 kg (297.6 lbs) on the brake pedal and withstand a deceleration of 5.1 Gs.