F1 at the COTA: so different from MotoGP and Miami

10/17/2023

The second of the three rounds of the season in the USA for Formula 1, demonstrating the growing interest for the sport throughout the country.

The second of the three rounds of the season in the USA for Formula 1, demonstrating the growing interest for the sport throughout the country. According to the Brembo technicians, the Circuit of the Americas is a circuit with medium-level difficulty for brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it is rated 3 on the difficulty index, the same as the Miami International Autodrome and the Las Vegas track.

In April, when the COTA hosted MotoGP, several riders complained about the conditions of the asphalt mentioning the difference in grip on various parts of the track. For the single-seaters, the consequences of this may be diminished but a lot depends on the weather: in 2015. due to flooding caused by Hurricane Patricia, the qualifying rounds were postponed to Sunday morning.

The USA, a land of fun and work

Within the circuit, near corners 19 and 20, an amusement park will be opened next year with 27 rides including several roller coasters considered the most exciting in the world. The decelerations are similar to those of the fastest supercars in the world many of which use Brembo carbon ceramic discs and monobloc calipers.

Brembo has been operating in North America since 2009 with HQs and a R&D center in Plymouth, in Michigan. Brembo has a disc machining plant and a caliper assembly plant in Homer next to which a massive cast iron foundry was built in 2015 that so it could provide the car manufacturers with a dedicated, fully integrated production process.

36 to 17 for MotoGP

On the Circuit of the Americas, the Formula 1 drivers use their brakes 11 times, the same number of times as the motorcycle riders. This is the only thing that the two motorsport premier classes have in common because the brakes in MotoGP are used for 36 seconds per lap compared with less than 17 seconds for cars due to the fact that the braking power can be discharged onto all four wheels.

From start to finish, each driver should exert a total load of just under 59 metric tons on the brake pedal, almost 17 metric tons more than the Miami GP. However, the track in Florida only has 3 braking moments with over 80 kg of load compared with the 8 braking moments on the Austin track including all those from turn 10 to turn 13.

230 km/h (143 mph) less in less than 3 seconds

Of the 11 braking sections in the US GP, 4 are considered very demanding on the brakes, 4 are of medium difficulty and the remaining 3 are light.

The hardest one is on turn 12 where the single-seaters go from 316 km/h to 86 km/h (197 to 53 mph) in 2.78 seconds and cover a distance of 128 meters (139.9 yards).

The drivers are subjected to 4.4 G of deceleration and exert total on the pedal of 131 kg (288 lb).

And what about the video games?

To take on turn 12 on the Circuit of the Americas correctly in the Formula 1 video game, you need some experience so that you don’t take it too short: you should start braking just before you go past the 100 m sign.

Move down into 3rd gear and move the car into the turn using the curb.

Keep your eye on the mirrors because your rivals may try and overtake and do not overdo it when you open up the throttle or you will end up on the green area.