When Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel got out of the cockpit of his Aston Martin after the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring last Sunday and took off his helmet, you would have thought he had come straight out of a coal mine, because his face was black with dust.
The reason for this, however, was the dust from the carbon brakes on the front axle, which this season is being blown towards the cockpit more than before. A circumstance that Vettel believes is no longer acceptable.
“Inhaling carbon dust is not exactly healthy. I hope that the FIA will deal with it very soon because it is pointless and easy to change,” Vettel said on “Sky”. According to the German, the brake ventilation that was changed in the 2022 season is to blame for the problem.
While the cooling air and with it the brake dust was routed through the wheel and thus to the outside until the end of last season, the ventilation is now on the inside of the wheel, which means that the dust is blown directly towards the cockpit.
FIA wants to stimulate change
The FIA responded to the criticism of the drivers – not only Vettel had addressed the problem. At the next meeting of the Formula 1 sports commission, in which representatives of the FIA and the teams sit, there will be a discussion about possible solutions.
However, the problem of brake dust blowing in drivers’ faces is not new. Valtteri Bottas had already reported in 2019 that he often had to snout black dust after the races. At that time, according to his assessment, this had a somewhat different cause.
“The dust that comes from our own brakes is minimal. It’s the cars in front of you and they will always be there,” Bottas said. “Every time I blow my nose after a race, it’s black. I have no idea what that does to our bodies.”
Obviously not a good thing, because around 20 years ago, former Formula 1 driver Mika Salo reported that doctors had found large amounts of carbon dust in his lungs during an operation.