Brembo F1 Brakes to be “Tested” at Bahrain

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Source: Brembo announcement

The Formula 1 World Championship starts back up in Bahrain with brand new single-seaters, new tires and even custom braking systems. According to Brembo technicians, the Bahrain International Circuit is one of the most demanding for the brakes. On a difficulty index scale of 1 to 5, it earned a 4 – exactly the same as legendary tracks like Monza and Spa-Francorchamps, albeit with very different characteristics than these.

The Bahrain GP will be a test bench for all these new products, partly because of an asphalt that is usually extremely abrasive, with the sand clearing off lap after lap and where the wind often plays a determining role.

Plus, the race will start after sundown, so it will be held in artificial lighting. However, this year the presence of lenticular wheel covers, also brand new, will keep us from enjoying the view of the incandescent carbon discs during braking at the end of the straights.

Disc size and hole size change

The increase in wheel diameter from 13 inches to 18 inches provides more space in the wheel corner for the carbon discs, so their diameter increases from 278 mm (10.95 in.) to 328 mm (12.9 in.) for the front and from 266 mm (10.47 in.) to 280 mm (11.02 in.) for the rear.

The thickness of the discs is now identical for both axles, 32 mm (1.26 in.), compared to last year when the rear discs did not exceed 28 mm (1.10 in.). However, the architecture of the discs has also changed because the new technical regulations impose a minimum diameter of 3 mm (0.12 in.) for the ventilation holes, whereas in the past Brembo pushed the envelope as far as 2.5 mm (0.10 in.).

No to thermal shocks for road cars too

Although they don’t reach the 1,200°C of Formula 1 cars, road car braking systems can also overheat. To avoid this, Brembo has researched the shape of the ventilation chamber for over a quarter of a century. The use of thermo fluid dynamic calculations allowed the best choice between traditional fins and pillar ventilation for each disc type.

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The latter, ideal when there is not a constant air flow within the disc, are arranged on three circumferences along the braking band with geometry designed to ensure the best performance for fluid dynamics. In these conditions, the pillars increase resistance to thermal cracking by up to 30 percent, ensuring longer disc life.

To view the entire announcement, click HERE.

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