The 2019 Formula 1 Russian GP according to Brembo

9/23/2019

An in-depth look at the braking systems on the Formula 1 single-seaters at Sochi Autodrom

From September 27 to 29, the Sochi Autodrom will host the 16th race of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship.

In 2010, the contract to host the Russian GP in Sochi was signed and four years later, the circuit was completed.

Built within the Olympic Park used for the Winter Olympic Games in 2014, the circuit stands out for the 650 meters (0.4 miles) curve at turn 3, the longest curve in all of the World Championship.

Designed by architect Hermann Tilke, the track is one of the longest in the World Championship (5,848 meters or 3,63 miles) and makes use of 1.7 km (1.06 miles) of street normally open to traffic.

That is why the single-seater performance improves as the sessions progress, little by little as more rubber is laid down on the tarmac.

According to Brembo technicians, who classified the 21 tracks in the World Championship, the Sochi Autodrom falls into the category of highly demanding circuits for the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it earned a 4 on the difficulty index.

The demand on the brakes during the GP

The time spent braking every lap is 15 seconds, which is equivalent to 16% of the overall race time and in line with a good part of the other races.

The 4.1 G peak average deceleration per lap is very high on the other hand, and is due to the 10 braking sections that each have a deceleration reaching at least 2.8 G.

The energy dissipated when braking is about 179 kWh.
From the starting line to the checkered flag, each driver uses his brakes at least 530 times, exerting a total force on the pedal of approximately 43.8 tons.

In other words, each driver applies a load of almost 500 kg per minute.

The most demanding braking sections

Of the 10 braking points on the Sochi Autodrom track, two are classified as demanding on the brakes, five are of medium difficulty and 3 are light.

The most difficult braking section is at turn 2: the single-seaters approach the turn going 333 km/h (207 mph) and brake for 1.82 seconds to enter the corner at about 131 km/h (81 mph). They manage to do so in just 107 meters (351 feet).
The drivers are required to apply a remarkable amount of force: a load of 142 kg (313 lbs) on the brake pedal and 6.1 G in deceleration.

Almost just as challenging on the Brembo brakes are turns 13 (from 333 km/h to 112 km/h that is from 207 mph to 70 mph) and 5 (from 288 km/h to 153 km/h that is from 179 mph to 95 mph)which are characterized by 5.4 G and 4.8 G in deceleration respectively. The single-seaters generate a peak braking force of over 1,500 kW at both corners: even 2,668 kW at turn 13.

Brembo performance

Of the five Russian GP races contested, single-seaters equipped with Brembo calipers took the pole position each time and finished the races in first and second place.
In 2016, 2017 and 2018, cars with Brembo calipers filled the entire podium.

Ferrari has yet to win a race in Russia however.