Second of the three rounds on American soil for Formula 1. In May, the race was held in Miami, this time in Austin, while in November it will be Las Vegas’ turn.

In 2024, combining these three Grands Prix, the total on-track attendance exceeded one million spectators.

The US GP already has 45 editions under its belt, but only the last 12 have been held at the Circuit of the Americas, also because the Texas track was inaugurated on October 21, 2012, by Mario Andretti at the wheel of the Lotus 79 with which he won the World Championship.

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The GP data

According to Brembo engineers who work closely with all Formula 1 drivers, the 5,513-meter Circuit of the Americas falls into the category of moderately demanding circuits for the brakes.

On a scale from 1 to 5, it earned a difficulty rating of 3, despite featuring 9 braking zones per lap with a total of 16.5 seconds of brake usage: 3 of the braking zones are classified as Hard, 4 as Medium, and 2 as Light. In 5 of these points, drivers apply the brakes for more than 2 seconds.

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The toughest corner

The toughest corner at the Circuit of the Americas for the braking system is Turn 12: the cars approach it at 312 km/h and slow down to 92 km/h in 2.72 seconds, covering 126 meters in the process.

The effort required from the drivers is 4.2 g (slightly lower than the 4.3 g at Turn 1), and the load they apply on the brake pedal is 130 kg.

Braking power, on the other hand, reaches 2,131 kW.

A winning first

The first US GP to feature a car equipped with Brembo brake components took place 50 years ago at Watkins Glen: in October 1975, Niki Lauda, at the wheel of the Ferrari 312T fitted with Brembo cast-iron discs, secured pole position with a 357-thousandths advantage over Emerson Fittipaldi.

Lauda kept the lead at the start and was never overtaken. Joining him on the podium were Fittipaldi and Jochen Mass in their McLarens.

It was Lauda’s fifth win of the season, having already clinched the World Championship in the previous round at Monza.

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The reclaiming of the top spot

Ferrari is the most successful team in Formula 1, with 248 GP wins. However, it hasn’t always held that position: in February 1973, Lotus matched them with 49 GP victories and two months later reached 50, becoming the sole leader.

Lotus’ lead continued until the 1975 Italian GP, when Ferrari caught up, and with the 1975 US GP, pulled ahead in the standings—the same year the partnership with Brembo, which continues to this day, began. Ferrari would relinquish the top spot at the end of 1993, but only for eight months, to McLaren, which had switched to Brembo calipers in 1989.

Adapting to the conditions

The 2018 US GP saw Kimi Räikkönen and Lewis Hamilton exchanging the lead. For the Finnish driver, it was his 21st and final GP win in Formula 1. That year, the Hypersoft compound was introduced, resulting in increased braking torque and, consequently, higher brake temperatures.

To address the issue, Brembo increased the ventilation holes in the carbon discs from 1,400 to 1,500. Additionally, with the debut of the Halo, the cars became heavier: Brembo worked to lighten the lithium-aluminum calipers and miniaturize the brake-by-wire system, achieving excellent results.