BREMBO BRAKE FACTS FOR FORMULA 1 RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX

April 29, 2016 by Brembo

The Russian GP according to Brembo

An X-ray view of the Formula 1 braking demand on the Sochi track

DETROIT, (Apr. 29, 2016) – From April 29-May 1, the Sochi Autodrom will host the fourth round of the 2016 Formula 1 World Championship.

The track, designed by architect Hermann Tilke, runs through the Olympic Village created for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. At 5.848 km (3.634 miles) long, it is the fourth longest in the Formula 1 World Championship, after Spa-Francorchamps, Baku and Silverstone.

Because it is not used very often, the performance of the single-seaters gets better with each session as the asphalt rubberizes. Another unknown is the calendar change because the two previous editions were held in October. For example, in 2015, the asphalt temperature stayed between 25 and 28 degrees Celsius (77 and 82 Fahrenheit) throughout the entire race.

According to Brembo technicians, who classified the 21 tracks in the World Championship on a scale of one to 10, the Sochi Autodrom falls into the category of the most demanding circuits for brakes. The Sochi track earned a difficulty index of eight, identical Monza's rating.

The demand on the brakes during the GP

The time spent braking, which amounts to 19 percent of the total race time, is just a bit higher than the numbers on the Shanghai International Circuit. Average deceleration, which is 3.7 g, is identical to Budapest and falls halfway between Shanghai and Melbourne. The energy given off in braking by each car is almost identical to that of Austin and Sakhir: the 135 kWh average for each single-seater is the equivalent of the monthly energy demand for a resident of Uzbekistan. From the lights to the checkered flag, each driver takes on no less than 630 braking sections, applying a total load of 71 tons on the pedal, in other words, the total weight of an M1 Abrams tank and 3 Agusta Westland AW139 helicopters.

The most demanding braking sections

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Of the 12 braking sections at the Sochi Autodrom, three are classified as demanding for the brakes, six are medium difficulty and three are light.

With a 5.5 g deceleration, Turn 2 is the most demanding braking section on the circuit and one of the 10 most difficult in the Championship: the drivers apply a force of 165 kg (364 lbs.) on the pedal in order to go from 325 to 99 km/h (202 to 62 mph) in 1.40 seconds. Turn 13 is also worth a mention: 124 meters (135 yards) of braking with a 5.3 g deceleration to drop from a speed of over 200 km/h (124 mph).

Four of the six medium difficulty braking sections are in the central part of the circuit and require a force between 119 and 133 kg (262 and 293 lbs.) on the pedal.

The easiest braking section is on Turn 16 with just 18 meters (60 feet) of space to drop the speed 16 km (10 mph).

Brembo Wins

In the two editions of the Russian GP that have been held, the cars equipped with Brembo brakes have always taken pole position and have finished first and second in the race. Both GP races were won by Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes.

About Brembo SpA

Brembo SpA is the world leader and acknowledged innovator of disc brake technology for automotive vehicles. Brembo supplies high performance brake systems for the most important manufacturers of cars, commercial vehicles and motorbikes worldwide, as well as clutches and other components for racing. Brembo is also a leader in the racing sector and has won more than 300 championships. Today the company operates in 15 countries on 3 continents, with 24 production and business sites, and a pool of about 7,800 employees, about 10% of whom are engineers and product specialists active in the R&D. 2015 turnover is € 2,073.2 million (12.31.2015). Brembo is the owner of the Brembo, Breco, AP, Bybre, and Marchesini brands and operates through the AP Racing brand.