Hard, very hard, even harder: Brembo braking at Monza

8/30/2023

Last race of the season for Formula 1 in Europe even if there will be another 8 rounds after the Italian GP equally distributed between Asia and the Americas.

Last race of the season for Formula 1 in Europe even if there will be another 8 rounds after the Italian GP equally distributed between Asia and the Americas. According to the Brembo technicians, the Monza Circuit is a very demanding circuit for brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it has been rated the highest.

The need to reach the highest possible speed on the long straights compels the teams to reduce the aerodynamic load to a minimum. However, when they reach the three Variants, the drivers have to slam hard on the brakes which makes good balance between the front and rear brake vital.

Brembo's first time at Monza

Monza is traditionally a Ferrari stronghold as shown by its 19 wins even if from 2007 onwards, the Maranello team has only won twice, in 2010 and in 2019. Twelve of these wins have been with Brembo brakes with the first one in 1975 with Clay Regazzoni.

The Swiss driver drove a 312T, the first Formula 1 single-seater with at least one Brembo brake component: Ferrari had been using Brembo-produced cast iron discs for just a few months. Niki Lauda was behind the wheel of the twin car and with 3rd place in that GP mathematically became world champion. This was the first of more than 600 titles won by drivers and riders with Brembo brakes.

Six braking moments and 4 sensational ones

The Monza Circuit is the World Championship track where drivers use their brakes less, just under 9 seconds per lap. Of all the other circuits, only Barcelona and Montreal remain under the 10 second mark whereas in Singapore, the brakes are used for 23.5 seconds.

Another feature of the Italian GP is that there are 4 different points where the speed exceeds 310 km/h (193 mph) before intense use of the brake system is needed with loads on the brake pedal ranging from 145 kg (320 lb) to over 160 kg (352 lb). From start to finish at Monza, each driver exerts a total load of 45.5 metric tons on the brake pedal, more than the figures for the Belgian and British GPs.

Less than 245 km/h (152.2 mph) in 2.6 seconds 

Of the 6 braking sections in the Italian GP, 4 are classified as demanding on the brakes and 2 are of medium difficulty.

The hardest for the braking system is the first one after the starting line: the single-seaters come into it at 334 km/h (207.5 mph) and drop to 89 km/h (55 mph) in just 122 meters (133 yards).

To do this, the drivers brake for 2.57 seconds, applying a load of 161 kg (354.9 lb) to the brake pedal and undergoing a deceleration of 5.2G.

And what about the video games? 

Turn 1 at Monza is the only one of the three Variants where you have to steer first to the right and then to the left. You must also bear in mind that the speed at the finishing line is so high that it only takes half a second to go from the 150 meter sign to the 50 meter one.

After moving down into 3rd gear, move over onto the inside so that you just touch the curb without going up onto it and then go into 2nd gear. Do not accelerate immediately but wait until you pass the apex of turn 2 before unleashing all the power as you come out of the corner.