Brembo Formula 1 Brake Facts for Imola

By:
On:
In: Racing News
Brembo engineers offer a guide to braking for this weekend’s Formula 1 Rolex Gran Premio Del Made in Italy Edell’Emilia-Romagna to run at Enzo e Dino Ferrari Raceway, April 22-24.
 
Partly because of the enthusiastic feedback from the drivers who experienced it in the last two years, this year Formula 1 will once again race at the Enzo e Dino Ferrari Raceway. According to Brembo technicians, the Imola track falls into the category of circuits with a medium level of difficulty for the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it earns itself a difficulty rating of three, one point lower than the Monza Raceway, which hosts the other Italian race. 
 
​With 19 turns and the reduced length of the final straight (358 meters – 1174.5 ft), this is a highly technical circuit with fast direction changes and extremely difficult braking sections of every imaginable kind. A sort of mini Nürburgring according to Enzo Ferrari’s definition. ​ ​ 
 
Miniaturized BBW made by Brembo​​
​​Since 2014, when Brake-by-Wire (BBW) was introduced in Formula 1, Brembo has redesigned the part of its braking systems used on the rear axle. Brake-by-Wire is an electronically controlled hydraulic system that optimizes the co-existence of classic hydraulic brakes and the energy recovery systems that are also involved in the car’s braking action, ensuring proper balance between these two components, which are thereby mixed and then add to the action of the front brakes. 
 
For four teams, Brembo produces various components of the Brake-By-Wire system that are more or less complete, for some teams, the supply stops with the hydraulic actuator, whereas for others, the system is integrated with other components of the system such as the brake master cylinder. Nonstop research is conducted to miniaturize Brake-by-Wire elements as much as possible and to improve their efficiency.
 
A smart system for street-legal cars too​​​
​​The crossover and transfer of know-how from F1 to street-legal cars is in Brembo’s DNA. This is a transfer of knowledge that projects Brembo into the dimension of being a solution provider and pioneer of the braking systems of the future. This is a challenge for which Brembo has been preparing for some time with increasing investments and which has led to the creation of SENSIFY, Brembo’s new and pioneering smart braking system that combines the best of two worlds, driving pleasure and total safety. 
 
With SENSIFY, the braking system is no longer the sum of parts, but it becomes a true ecosystem where artificial intelligence and software play an active role. In fact, the collection of big data ensures that the system is constantly up to date, thereby improving the driver’s experience. 
 
SENSIFY combines Brembo’s current product portfolio, namely calipers, discs and friction material, with digital technology and artificial intelligence to create a flexible and revolutionary platform that encompasses software, predictive algorithms and the data management to digitally control the braking system.
 
​With SENSIFY, we are now seeing the switch from a braking system which, for decades, applied the same pressure simultaneously to all four wheels to a completely new one, capable of independently managing the braking action on each wheel based on the driver’s needs, the vehicle dynamics, and road conditions. 
 
Therefore, SENSIFY offers the best combination of braking in any condition and at any time. That’s what we mean when we say we want to give our customers the total safety they’re looking for. 
 
 
Imola: more braking, but less difficult than Monza​
The new features of the 2022 single-seaters should mean using the brakes for about 11 seconds per lap, which works out to 15 percent of each session. In Monza, however, the time is nine and a half seconds, which works out to 12 percent. But in Imola, there are ten braking operations per lap, two more than the raceway just outside Milan. Overall, there are more braking sections on the Enzo e Dino Ferrari Raceway, but they are not as demanding as the ones in Monza. 
 
Five of the Imola braking sections, they last less than eight tenths of a second and the other five never last longer the 1.8 seconds. On the other hand, there is not even one spot where deceleration is close to or over 170 km/h (105.6 mph). Even braking distance never reaches as high as 100 meters (328 ft) at any place on the track, in spite of two 4.7 G braking sections. ​
 
Watch out for Turn 17​​
Of the 10 braking sections at the Made in Italy and Emilia-Romagna GP, three are classified as highly demanding on the brakes, four are of medium difficulty and the remaining three are light. 
 
The hardest for the braking system is the one at the Rivazza (Turn 17): the single-seaters arrive at 298 km/h (185 mph) and drop in speed to 135 km/h (84 mph) in just 92 meters (302 feet). To achieve this, the drivers brake for 1.71 seconds and experience deceleration of 4.7 Gs. ​
 
And what about the video games?​​​
​​In order to brake perfectly at Rivazza in the Formula 1 video game, it is essential not to be distracted by the houses you can see in the background. And then you have to remember that there’s another left turn right after it. Stay on the right and hit the brakes, then moving inside just before the white line on the asphalt. You can also go up on the inside curb with the left wheels since it’s rather low.​
 
·        The circuit identity card with all the information on all the braking sections, in .pdf format: https://mediakit.brembo.com/index.php/circuits/f1-2022#english
 
·        The video of the hardest braking point of the GP, in mp4 format (low and high resolution): https://we.tl/t-8H05Degyaw
 
·        The video can also be consulted at the YT link: https://youtu.be/qlTcQlYQ2JY
 
·        The comment of the Formula 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix according to Brembo, in web format: https://www.brembo.com/en/company/news/2022-formula-1-imola-gp-brembo-brakes
Adam Sinclair
Latest posts by Adam Sinclair (see all)
Post Views: 78