The 2019 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi GP according to Brembo

11/25/2019

An in-depth look at the braking systems on the Formula 1 single-seaters at Yas Marina Circuit

The 21th and last race of the Formula 1 World Championship is scheduled for November 29th to December 1st at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The track is on the man-made island of the same name, next to Ferrari World, in the area north-west of the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

The first part of the track is very fast with two straights where the DRS is used.

Then, beginning from turn 12, the number of tight turns increases, keeping the cars from reaching 300 km/h (186 mph) on the rest of the track.

The race begins at 5:10 pm in daylight but when the sun sets 20 minutes later, the last hour and 15 minutes is contested under artificial lighting.

This dramatic shift translates into what can be a 10°-15° C (18°-27°F) drop in temperature, which reduces the grip and results in unstable braking performance.

The first 20 minutes of racing are under the boiling hot sun, grip is high as is the temperature of the braking system.

This can cause thermal discharge problems and wear down the friction material.

According to Brembo technicians, who have classified the 21 tracks in the World Championship, Yas Marina Circuit is one of the world's most demanding tracks on the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it earned a 3 on the difficulty index.

The demand on the brakes during the GP

Even though there are 21 corners, the drivers only use their brakes 11 times each lap.

Only the city track in Singapore has more braking points: 15.

The brakes are used for a total of almost 18.5 seconds each lap, which equals 17 minutes over the course of the whole race, 19% of the GP.

The average peak deceleration per lap is 3.7 G, but taking into account just the first 11 corners, the average exceeds 4.6 G, a figure never approached in the remaining turns.

The energy dissipated during braking in the whole GP from each single-seater is 242 kWh, which is quite similar to the Hungarian GP.

From the starting line to the checkered flag, each driver exerts a total load of 53.5 tons on the brake pedal.

On the single lap though, the load exceeds 970 kg.

The most demanding braking sections

Of the 11 braking sections at Yas Marina Circuit, four are classified by Brembo technicians as very demanding on the brakes, one is of medium difficulty and six are light.

Preceded by the almost 1.2 km (0.75 miles) long straight, the most challenging braking section is turn 8: the single-seaters arrive at it going 338 km/h (210 mph) and then brake for 2.57 seconds to slow to 83 km/h (52 mph). They manage to do this in 125 meters (410 feet) by applying a load of 186 kg (410 lbs) on the brake pedal and undergoing a deceleration of 5.6 G.

A less challenging corner comes after the second sector where the DRS can be activated, turn 11: the drivers need just 124 meters (407 feet) and 2.38 seconds because they arrive going slightly less fast (328 km/h or 204 mph) and enter the corner going a bit faster (105 km/h or 65 mph).

Lower are the load on the brake pedal (155 kg or 342 lbs) and the deceleration (5 G). The third most important corner in terms of time and space is turn 17, where the single-seaters go from 287 km/h (178 mph) to 108 km/h (67 mph): they need 2.50 seconds and 119 meters (390 feet), but the intensity of the force on the drivers is lower than at turn 5. This last turn requires a deceleration of 5.2 G, despite a reduction in speed of "just" 161 km/h (100 mph), from 307 mph (191 mph) to 146 mph (91 mph).

Brembo performance

Single-seaters with Brembo brakes have won eight of the last ten Abu Dhabi GP races disputed up to now: 3 wins for Red Bull and four for Mercedes.

Ferrari has never managed to achieve pole position or win on this track.