Drawing on the experience and expertise of its technicians, Brembo has created a series of infographics, to illustrate the main components of Brembo brake systems used in F1, comparable to the same Brembo products for road cars and bikes.
The brake disc
One of the most critical components for Formula One braking is the management of the operating temperatures especially for the brake discs. For this reason the ventilation of Brembo carbon brake discs has undergone constant transformation and evolution, considerably increasing the absolute performance of the braking system.
The increase of the air flow of the Brembo brake discs has also been achieved through the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics, study of fluid dynamics via computer), a synergic study between the air intake, developed by each team for their cars, and the Brembo disc brake. This allowed the design of the ventilation holes to reach extreme characteristics, with a vast increase of holes increasing the carbon surface exposed to the air flow for better heat dispersion. During a complete season, Brembo provides each team, consisting of two cars, an average from 140 to 240 brake discs.
The brake pads
The friction material used for Brembo pads has gone through significant changes. The actual material used, known as CER, has significantly reduced wear and guaranteed a more effective thermal conductivity. Compared to the previous composite, CER ensures excellent warm-up time, namely speed in reaching the maximum operating temperature for greater effciency, broad range of use, both in terms of pressure and temperature, and linear brake response.
These are all features that allow the driver perfect modulation of the brake system. Incredibly low wear that means constant pedal stiff and performance throw the race. The material used for all Brembo discs is the same for all teams. During a complete season, Brembo provides each team, consisting of two cars, an average from 280 to 480 pads.
The brake caliper
The monoblock calipers are a solution once again introduced for the first time by Brembo thanks to its extraordinary capacity for innovation; a new concept of the brake caliper able to revolutionise, over the years, the brake systems of automobiles followed by motorcycles. During the second half of the 80s, the first monoblock brake caliper was manufactured inside the Brembo workshops, which quickly debuted in Formula 1 racing. Since then, F1 brake calipers have undergone numerous evolutions. Currently, roughly 10 hours of processing are required to manufacture an F1 brake caliper. Both the materials and the phases of the process are always 100%, controlled in accordance with the concept of total quality required by the application. During a complete season, Brembo provides each team, consisting of 2 cars, 10 sets of calipers.
The evolution of discs
In recent years, engineers have completely changed Brembo brake cooling, which in Formula One can reach the maximum temperature of 1,000°C, adapting the cooling system, which can now feature up to 1,000 ventilation holes. The ventilation of Brembo carbon brake discs has undergone constant transformation, considerably increasing the absolute performance of the braking system.
G- Force
The G-forces borne by pilots when braking is positively affected by the grip and downforce. At constant braking performance, in fact, greater load and more grip generate greater G-forces that the pilot must bear. For this reason, letting off throttle with greater G-force is a condition mainly found in circuits with medium to high downforce.
The carbon-ceramic brake discs
The carbon-ceramic brake discs are derived directly from the carbon models used in Formula 1, used exclusively while on track due to relatively high minimum operating temperatures, but can also be used for standard road vehicles due to their effectiveness even when “cold”. This material allows a constant braking force to be maintained even after repeated operation, thanks to the good behaviour of the material at high temperatures. This is why hard carbon ceramic is exceptionally resistant to fading, especially when braking, especially in more challenging conditions, and incredibly light.
