Brembo Brake Facts for Formula 1 Hungary

August 3, 2021 by Brembo

Lots of work for brake-by-wire at the Hungaroring GP. Its use in F1 and on street cars.

Brembo engineers offer a guide to braking for this weekend's Formula 1 Rolex Magyar Nadydij at the Hungaroring.

Like in 2010, the Hungarian GP will be held this year on August 1. There were multiple differences as compared to the current F1 cars, from the type of engines used to the number of rpm allowed, from the lack of a maximum permitted fuel consumption to the absence of expense limits since the last race at this track.

However, then, like now, the braking systems had to ensure the best in both qualifying with the cars empty and on the starting grid with tanks full. According to Brembo engineers, the Hungaroring is one of those tracks with a medium level of difficulty for brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it earned a three on the difficulty index, the same as the Zandvoort track. ​

Miniaturized BBW made by Brembo​

Since 2014, when Brake-by-Wire (BBW) was introduced in Formula 1, Brembo has redesigned the rear part of its braking systems to create solutions that allow the brakes and energy recovery systems to coexist in the best possible way.

Brembo produces various Brake-By-Wire components for four teams: the actuator for some, the valves and the stiffness simulator for others. Continuous research is carried out on the maximum miniaturization of BBW elements. ​

BBW for street-legal cars too​

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The use of BBW on street-legal cars will constitute an epic step for braking systems. It is a revolution for which Brembo has been preparing for 20 years with increasingly large investments in energy recovery and in weight and emissions reduction.

With Brembo BBW, the traditional architecture is replaced by an electronic control system. The system has been developed for any vehicle and gives drivers the possibility of setting up different braking options, based on their driving styles. The uniqueness of the Brembo solution stems from the single brake actuator on each wheel for smooth, continuous braking action. ​

Like Monaco, much more than Silverstone​

The Hungarian track has 11 braking points, for a total time per lap of almost 18 seconds using the brakes, one of the highest in the season. Despite being a kilometer and a half long (0.9 miles), the Silverstone track requires use of the brakes for less than 13 seconds per lap. From start to finish, the brakes are in operation for almost 21 minutes in the Hungarian GP.

The 11 braking sections are distinguished by highly different values, but none of them exceed 140 meters (459 feet) in length. Furthermore, only three are at least one hundred meters long (328 feet) and require a load on the pedal of over 90 kg (198 lbs.). From the time the lights go out, all the way to the finish line, each driver applies a total load on the brake pedal of 56 tons, one of the highest in the season, along with the Monaco GP. ​

Two and a half seconds to brake from 346 km/h (215 mph)​​

Of the 11 braking sections at the Hungarian GP, three are classified as highly demanding on the brakes, one is of medium difficulty, and the remaining seven are light.

The most feared is the first turn after the finish line. The single-seaters arrive at 346 km/h (215 mph) and drop to 109 km/h (67.7 mph) in just 137 meters (450 feet). To do this, drivers apply a load of 182 kg (401 lbs.) on the brake pedal for 2,58 seconds and undergo a deceleration of 5.5 G.