The 14-lap long Australian GP that was dominated by Aryton and Brembo

3/28/2023

According to Brembo technicians, the Melbourne GP Circuit falls into the category of those tracks with medium difficulty for the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it is rated 3 on the difficulty index.

In 2001, a number of 100 km (62 miles) sprint races were introduced to Formula 1 to establish the starting grid for the real race on the Sunday which traditionally covers a distance of over 300 km (186 miles).

One hundred kilometers seems like next to nothing but was almost twice the distance of the Australian GP that was run in 1991 thanks to the cloudburst that put a stop to the race: just 14 laps of the Adelaide track for a total of 52.9 kilometers with success for Ayrton Senna in a McLaren equipped with Brembo brakes which he had insisted on when he moved to the team with red and white livery but which were hardly used at all that day.

The effort required in this year's Australian GP which will be run over 58 laps is decidedly different. According to Brembo technicians, the Melbourne GP Circuit falls into the category of those tracks with medium difficulty for the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it is rated 3 on the difficulty index.

A love for color 

Melbourne is famous for its lively culture, its trendy areas and the streets in the center which are full of color. From this point of view, it is very similar to Brembo which from the beginning of the 1990s has made color a hallmark of its brake calipers with a range that has over 100 different shades of color.

What started it all off, three decades ago, was the introduction of the first calipers which were painted red on an exclusive car manufactured by a well-known German manufacturer. This intuition transformed what had been up until then a simple mechanical product into a true design icon which helps to reinforce the distinctive characteristics of every car.

Only one braking moment to the left 

On every lap around the Albert Park circuit, the Formula 1 drivers use the brakes 6 times, but on 2 occasions, the drop in speed is less than 65 km/h (40 mph). The brakes are used for less than 9 seconds per lap, which is one of the lowest times in the entire championship together with the Miami and Monza tracks, which amounts to 9 percent of the duration of the entire Australian Grand Prix.

The one exception is the slight braking on turn 9 where the speed of the single-seaters drops by just 33 km/h (20.5 mph) whereas the other 5 braking events are all on right-hand corners. The brakes, on the other hand, are not needed on turn 5 which is named after Niki Lauda even if he only raced once in Australia. The Austrian was the first to win a GP and a World Championship with Brembo brakes in 1975.

206 km/h (128 mph) deceleration in 2.5 seconds

Of the 6 braking sections in the Australian GP, 2 are classified as very demanding on the brakes, 3 are of medium difficulty, and the remaining one is light.

The most difficult turn for the braking system is turn 3 even if the speed is lower on the first and eleventh turn. However, on turn 3, the single-seaters reduce their speed 199 km/h (123.7 mph), going from 299 km/h (185 mph) to 100 km/h (62 mph).

This takes them 2.31 seconds, during which they cover 112 meters (367 feet) whereas the drivers are subjected to 4.6 G of deceleration.

And what about the video games?

To get the braking right on the third turn on the Albert Park Circuit in the Formula 1 video game, do not wait until you reach the end of the internal wall.

Once it appears it is too late and there is a strong risk you will end up on the escape lane stuck in the gravel.

The best thing is to press the brake pedal a few seconds earlier and move down into 2nd gear as you turn the steering wheel.