The technical innovations of the Bergamo-based company in the face of the challenge of the new F1 2022 regulations, a real zero year also for Brembo’s braking systems
Almost 50 years and not hearing them. And, indeed, present itself in a completely new guise at the start of the F1 2022 season, taking up the challenge of the regulatory revolution that will take the GP circus into another era. For Brembo it will be the 48th championship in the top racing series, but it will inevitably be almost a year zero, in which to build on the experience of success – 27 Drivers’ World titles, 31 Constructors and 463 races won – and in which to showcase the technical knowledge that has allowed the company to become a world leader in the braking systems sector. In short, the mission is clear but extremely delicate: to collect from one’s own history and work for the future, considering the amount of innovations and customizations made available to drivers and teams in a world championship that almost completely cuts the bridges with the past.
F1 2022, BREMBO for everyone
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The starting point is also a formidable milestone: for the first time in 48 years of history, Brembo will supply brake calipers to all ten Formula 1 teams: nine teams will in fact be directly equipped with Brembo materials, while the remaining team will have AP Racing calipers, a company based in Coventry which is part of the Bergamo group. All 20 drivers on the grid, therefore, will use the new six-piston calipers (a maximum value established by the new F1 regulation) which will be largely customized according to the requests of the team engineers: Brembo has in fact designed a different caliper model for each team, responding to particular needs in terms of weight-stiffness ratio. While some teams have opted for lighter but less rigid products, others have instead required heavier solutions, favoring the stiffness of the caliper.
BRAKES F1 2022, THE NEWS
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New calipers but not only that, because the real technical revolution, triggered by the 2022 regulation, made it necessary to design new braking systems both in terms of geometry and structure. The increase in space inside the rims, which go from 13 to 18 inches, has led, for example, to a substantial increase in the diameter of the brake discs, which go from 278 mm to a maximum of 328 mm on the front axle, while the rear wheels range from 266 mm in 2021 to 280 mm in the new specifications, accompanied by an increase in thickness from 28 to 32 mm. Brembo also had to revisit the architecture of the discs, reducing the number of holes used for cooling the system in order to comply with the requirements imposed by the regulation.
WEIGHT INCREASES
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A real challenge will therefore be to maintain the performance standard in the face of a reduced possibility of cooling the components: if, last year, Brembo discs reached a maximum of 1,480 holes of 2.5 mm in diameter, in 2022 the holes they must be between 1,000 and 1,100 at the front and 900 at the rear, with a minimum diameter of 3 mm. News also in terms of pads: the teams will be able to choose between two different specifications, without having available the perforated ones, now explicitly prohibited by the regulation. In short, many innovations that contribute in part to the great growth in the … balance of the 2022 “ground effect” single-seaters, whose minimum weight has gone from 752 kg last season to 798 kg this year: for each wheel, Brembo engineers have estimated a weight increase of about 700 grams, which leads to a total increase of almost 3 kg for the braking system alone.
March 14, 2022 – 12:11 pm
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