By offering each Formula 1 team a tailored solution, Brembo reflects the needs and requests of each car and driver. Each team, based on the specific requirements of their vehicle, collaborates with Brembo engineers to define the optimal balance between weight and stiffness for the new brake calipers.
Brembo’s sophisticated design methodologies have allowed for the creation of customized brake caliper models that achieve the desired balance. In this context, some teams prefer lighter yet less stiff calipers, while others opt for stiffer but heavier solutions.
It’s a delicate balance that drives Brembo to develop dedicated solutions for the braking systems of each car. Let’s take a closer look at how it’s done.
The customization of calipers by Brembo is significantly broader, as the construction philosophies of the teams vary widely. Collaboration begins even before the caliper is designed, aiming to achieve the optimal balance of weight and stiffness required by each team: some prefer lighter yet less stiff calipers, while others prioritize stiffness at the expense of weight.
Cooling choices for the calipers also vary greatly. Some request ventilation fins on the outer body, while others prefer pillars narrower but deeper than fins. Other teams favor a cover that wraps around part of the upper side of the caliper, ensuring both stiffness and the desired ventilation.
Excessive heat in the calipers is the primary cause of brake system failure, especially under extreme conditions. Therefore, Brembo designers pay special attention to anything that increases the heat exchange surface with air for each wheel corner.
In addition to ventilation, Brembo calipers stand out for their ability to transmit high braking torques to the ground and for their weight optimization: eliminating every unnecessary gram reduces unsprung mass, resulting in obvious benefits for acceleration and speed during directional changes.
Brembo also supplies the teams with brake master cylinders and by-wire units. These units aim to manage rear braking, instantly varying the dissipative braking contribution based on regenerative input and ensuring the correct balance between the front and rear axles
For the discs, the regulations impose a maximum thickness of 32 mm and a diameter between 325 mm and 330 mm for the front, and between 275 mm and 280 mm for the rear. Additionally, the minimum diameter for cooling holes is 3 mm.
For the front discs, the number of holes ranges from 1,000 to 1,100, depending on the cooling needs, while for the rear discs, the maximum number of holes is 900 in the most demanding configurations.
The spline coupling of the discs supplied by Brembo can be of two types: wide spline or single-sided spline. In the former, the drag thickness—meaning the part in contact with the bell—is equal to the thickness of the disc. In the single-sided spline specification, however, the drag thickness is less than the thickness of the disc. The choice of teams depends on their design philosophies, which are more oriented towards either torque transmission or maximizing cooling.
The carbon material used to manufacture Brembo carbon discs combines high performance with optimized consistency, even at low temperatures. Additionally, the discs have very low wear, enabling teams to achieve greater mileage. In most cases one set of discs can last two race weekends.
The friction material used for Brembo pads has gone through significant changes. The actual material used, has significantly reduced wear and guaranteed a more effective thermal conductivity.
The pad carbon material ensures excellent warm-up time, meaning it quickly reaches the operating temperature for the optimal efficiency, a broad range of use in terms of both pressure and temperature, and a predictable 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.
Brembo Racing HTC 64T has been specially formulated to deliver the highest performance in all racing conditions. With a dry boiling point of 335°C and exceptionally low compressibility beyond 180°C, this fluid ensures a firm and consistent brake pedal, even in the most extreme conditions. Brembo Racing HTC 64T brake fluid is the choice of Formula 1 teams.
By using sensors in the wheel corners, master cylinders, and BBW units, teams can monitor a lot of operating data such as disc and pad temperature, brake pressure, master cylinders travel, etc in real time. Based on the collected data, the teams' engineers can support the driver in optimally managing the single-seater's braking temperature and balance.
In addition to the presence of track engineers who provide assistance to the teams at each GP, Brembo also offers support via the Remote Garage. This facility allows technicians to follow the teams remotely from the headquarter, equipped with high-performance computers, dedicated data reception lines, large screens for live broadcasts, and applications to monitor communications between teams and drivers.
Winning Debut with Ferrari
Brembo made its Formula 1 debut in 1975, supplying a small batch of cast iron brake discs to Scuderia Ferrari.
The durability and effectiveness of Brembo’s discs, combined with the formidable 312T, resulted in a triumphant season: Ferrari claimed 9 poles, 11 podiums, and 6 wins out of 14 Grands Prix, securing both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ titles.
Niki Lauda skillfully maximized the Brembo brakes, braking aggressively when needed to overtake and managing the system carefully when leading.
Ferrari’s return to glory, after not having won a championship since 1964, earned Brembo the trust of Enzo Ferrari, who from that point forward would always rely on their brakes. In 1976, the repeat was narrowly missed due to Lauda’s crash at the Nürburgring, but it was only delayed until 1977.
The decade closed with Ferrari's third Drivers’ title, thanks to Jody Scheckter, and their fourth Constructors’ title, aided by the talented Gilles Villeneuve.
The Innovations of Brake Calipers Open Up to Top Teams
Having achieved remarkable levels of performance and reliability with its discs, Brembo shifted focus in the 1980s to developing brake calipers, aiming to give Ferrari a competitive edge over British teams.
In 1982, Brembo introduced a 4-piston radial-mounted caliper, made of two aluminum halves bolted together. Ferrari won the Constructors' title for two consecutive years, but fate dealt a blow to Gilles Villeneuve and later Didier Pironi.
Ayrton Senna became enamored with Brembo’s calipers, recognizing the technological evolution of brakes in F1.
The Brazilian driver experimented with new solutions, from 4-pad calipers to those with 8 pistons and aluminum alloys. With Brembo calipers, Senna secured his first 6 Grand Prix victories with Lotus, and later demanded them at McLaren, where he got them in 1989. The year before, in 1988, Brembo silenced skeptics by producing the first single-piece monobloc caliper.
The Birth of the Schumacher Myth
The revolution in braking introduced by Brembo’s monobloc calipers caught the attention of more teams, including Benetton.
With Michael Schumacher’s arrival, the team took a major leap forward, winning the Drivers’ titles in 1994 and 1995. Schumacher favored a short, responsive brake pedal with consistent performance throughout the race. Despite not being physically imposing, he could apply significant force on the brake pedal.
Schumacher reunited with Brembo at Ferrari, helping them return to the top of the standings. Meanwhile, Brembo contributed to Ligier’s historic win at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix, 15 years after their last victory, and helped Jordan achieve its first-ever wins.
At that time, Brembo supplied the same calipers to any team requesting them, making no distinction between giants and smaller teams.
The Studies on Ventilation and Ferrari Records
The early 2000s were marked by Schumacher's historic five consecutive titles with Ferrari.
The German rewrote the record books, winning 7 World Championships, 13 Grands Prix in a single season (2004), and finishing on the podium in every race of the 2002 season (17 out of 17). He did it with Brembo carbon discs, which initially had 72 ventilation holes.
Alongside improving caliper performance and durability, Brembo focused increasingly on disc technology, finding solutions for managing operating temperatures. By 2006, the holes had an oval shape and numbered around 100, and by 2008 they were arranged in two rows with some overlap, multiplying the number to 200.
The revolutionary Brawn GP benefited from Brembo’s lighter and more compact rear calipers, dominating its rivals during its debut season in 2009.
The Beginning of a New Era
With more powerful software and computational fluid dynamics, Brembo developed custom calipers for each car, optimizing stiffness and airflow around the wheel corners, while increasing the number of ventilation holes on the discs.
In 2012, there were 600 holes, and a few years later, they surpassed 1,000, thanks in part to a reduction in disc diameter. During this period, Red Bull dominated with Sebastian Vettel, who had a natural sensitivity for brake materials and contributed with precise feedback.
The Red Bull era ended in 2013, the same year Brembo introduced the CER material, which allowed for rapid heating and linear response. In 2014, Brake by Wire was introduced, marking the beginning of the Mercedes era with Lewis Hamilton.
The British driver excelled with trail braking, using the brakes while increasing steering angle. Brembo played a key role with aluminum-lithium calipers and discs featuring up to 1,260 ventilation holes.
Evolutions on Brake Discs
In 2020, Brembo further increased the number of ventilation holes in carbon discs, producing Very High Cooling discs with 1,470 holes arranged in 7 rows.
Brembo offered teams 6 different disc options, based on external diameter variations. However, regulations in 2022 mandated changes: holes in brake pads were banned, and disc holes had to be at least 3mm in diameter.
Despite his youth, Max Verstappen became the driver to beat, leading Red Bull back to the top. The Dutchman claimed 4 consecutive titles and, in 2023, won an astonishing 19 out of 22 Grands Prix, using Brembo’s 6-piston aluminum calipers, custom-designed for his car.
In 2024, wide spline discs were complemented by single-sided spline discs, recognizable by their thinner drive area.