Imola Formula 1: 8 out of 10 teams have Brembo monobloc calipers

4/13/2021

Characteristics of the brakes and their use on the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Racetrack plus information on the road calipers

According to Brembo technicians, the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Racetrack falls into the category of those tracks with medium difficulty for brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it earned a 3 on the difficulty index, one point less than the Monza Track which hosts the other F1 race in Italy.

F1 returned to this track last November after a 14-year break. With 19 turns and a very short home straight (358 m/392 yds), the circuit is very technical and calls for some really demanding braking: that is why Enzo Ferrari - the track has been named after him and his son Dino - called it a “little Nürburgring”.

Monobloc calipers, an all-Brembo invention

Brembo makes aluminum-lithium brake calipers with 6 pistons (maximum value established by the regulations) for 8 of the teams in the 2021 World Championship. It was Brembo who first introduced monobloc calipers to racing in the second half of the 1980s on the F187/88C Ferraris driven by Michele Alboreto and Gerhard Berger.

For the 2021 season, according to the vehicle’s specific requirements, each team - together with Brembo engineers - identifies the optimum weight-rigidity ratio that the brake calipers must have. The brake system is developed independently and separately for each team so that industrial secrets are kept.

Calipers with internal ducts for road cars too

After seeing how well monobloc calipers work on the track, Brembo transferred them to its mass production where they can be found on the most prestigious and popular sports cars. This is an additional challenge due to the large quantities which need to be produced and the duration, equal to the entire service life of the car, required of road calipers. This is a hallmark of the Brembo B-M calipers which have been designed for those who want maximum performance from their cars.

Machined from a cast aluminum blank using a 4D technology casting process and internal fluid ducts instead of the conventional external rigid pipe connections, these calipers guarantee exceptional rigidity and limited deformation. Thanks to this technology, the technical characteristics of the B-M4, B-M6 and B-M8 calipers are similar to those of the racing calipers which are machined from billet or forged.

See all the advantages of the B-M braking systems

Less than 100 meters needed to brake

Once again this year, F1 drivers only need to use their brakes for just over 9.5 seconds per lap which amounts to 13 per cent of the overall duration of the race. In Monza, on the other hand, they are used for 10.75 seconds per lap, but the track covers almost 5.8 km whereas the Imola Circuit is just over 4.9 km (3.1 mi) long.

Even if there are 19 turns, brakes are used on only 8 of them and never for 1.9 or more seconds. The braking distances are never longer than 95 meters (311.6 feet). However, the force on the brake pedal is high: from start to finish, each driver exerts a total force of almost 58.5 tons on average, over 10 tons more than the Bahrain GP.

Speed halved in 1.6 seconds 

Of the 8 braking sections at the Made in Italy and Emilia-Romagna GP, 4 are classified as very demanding on the brakes, 2 are of medium difficulty and the other 2 are light.

The most challenging one for the braking system is Rivazza, turn 17: the single-seaters reach it at 309 km/h and then slow down to 145 km/h (192 to 90 mph) in just 96 meters (105 yds). To do this, drivers brake for 1.62 seconds, applying a force of 137 kg (302 lb) on the brake pedal and undergoing a deceleration of 5.6 G.