Forty years ago, Brembo took its first faltering steps into the world of Formula 1 with a small supply of cast iron discs for the Ferrari Team: Brembo's debut in the ultimate motor racing championships coincided with the explosion on to the scene of Niki Lauda, who brought the World title back to Maranello in 1975 after an 11-year absence. That year, the Austrian won 5 GPs, while his team-mate Clay Regazzoni triumphed at Monza.
In the second season of Formula 1, Brembo also helped claim victory at 6 Gran Prixs, again with the Reds. In the next three years, (1977-1979) the number of successes per season achieved by single-seaters with Brembo brakes never fell lower than 4. But the 1980 championship put a spanner in the works of Brembo's winning run: to date, it is still the only championship in which Brembo failed to win even one GP since its debut in Formula 1.
But Brembo savoured the sweet taste of victory again in 1981, and hasn't looked back since. In search of new challenges, in 1985 Brembo found itself supplying Lotus, which played a new rising star, Ayrton Senna. That year, the Brazilian had his first tastes of success in Formula 1, in Portugal and in Belgium: the first in the rain and the second in dry weather, but both times equipped with Brembo braking systems.
Thanks to the Brazilian and to Alain Prost who drove the formidable McLaren MP4/5, in 1989, Brembo succeeded in achieving double figures for the very first time in a championship, that is, by winning at least 10 GPs. That season, partnering Ferrari and Benetton, Brembo brakes managed to rack up 14 GP wins. With no stopping it now, Brembo reached its 100-victory milestone in the Brazilian GP in 1994 with the Benetton driven by a certain Michael Schumacher.
And again with Schumacher, who had passed to Ferrari in the meanwhile, Brembo upped the stakes further in the noughties: it won 15 GPs in 2002 and just as many again in 2004. In 2004, at the Hungarian GP, Brembo brakes reached the 200 mark in Formula 1 victories. This was the latest in a long line of dreams come true, but in 2005 the brand experienced a rude awakening when it only won one title.
But Brembo soon set off again, all fires blazing, and over the last 10 seasons has never counted less than 9 victories. It raised the standard even higher in 2013 with 18 triumphs in 19 GPs: Kimi Raikkonen was the only one to prevent it achieving a full slate. But that came eventually: in 2014 and again in 2015: indeed both times, the single-seaters that won all 19 GPs of the season were fitted with Brembo brakes. Thanks to them, Brembo can now boast a total of 342 Formula 1 victories.
