Formula 1 2024 Season

Braking news from Brembo on the upcoming USGP:

After nearly a month off, the Formula 1 World Championship resumes in the USA, which already hosted the Miami GP in early May. This weekend, the race will take place in Austin, Texas, at the Circuit of the Americas. It will be the 12th edition of the USA GP at this track, which for the third consecutive year has gathered at least 400,000 spectators, reaching 432,000 attendees last year. 

The GP Data 

According to Brembo technicians, the 5.513 km-long Circuit of the Americas is considered a moderately demanding track for brakes. On a scale from 1 to 5, it has earned a difficulty rating of 3, despite having 4 braking points classified as "Hard" balanced by an equal number of "Light" braking points. Over a lap, Formula 1 drivers use the brakes 10 times for just over 16.7 seconds per lap, which is equivalent to 18% of the entire race.

•          Brembo Identity Card, in PDF:  Brembo - F1 2024

•          Video Hardest Braking Point, in .mp4: https://we.tl/t-GILSWrpvOL

•          Link YT Hardest Braking Point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFCHUowF3ns

•          Link web news: https://www.brembo.com/en/company/news/2024-formula1-austin-gp-brembo-brakes

Ventilated Brake Pads 

 Brembo's long-standing experience in Formula 1, which began in 1975 with a small supply of cast iron brake discs for Ferrari, has allowed them to develop several solutions for the calipers that aid in the thermal dissipation of the entire braking system. Among these were brake pads with ventilation holes, which were difficult to manufacture due to their small size and the carbon-based materials used.

Thanks to these holes, airflow was increased, which delayed the overheating of both the pads and the caliper. However, since 2022, the FIA technical regulations have banned these holes in brake pads to limit component costs. Brembo has adapted to this ban by promoting cooling through special treatments on the back of the pad, which reduce weight and increase the heat exchange surface.

The Toughest Turn 

The hardest corner for the braking system at the Circuit of the Americas is Turn 12: cars approach it at 309 km/h and slow down to 86 km/h in 2.7 seconds, covering 123 meters. The force required of the drivers is 4.3 g, and the pressure they apply on the brake pedal is 133 kg. The braking power reaches 2,212 kW.

The Inferno of Dallas 

 Forty years ago, Texas hosted the only edition of the Dallas GP: the track was designed around the Cotton Bowl, an iconic stadium mainly used for college football. It featured several blind corners, and part of the track lacked asphalt. Braking on concrete is not the same, and some drivers complained, but eventually agreed to race. The extreme heat was a major factor, to the point where Nigel Mansell, after getting out to push his Lotus that had stopped just meters from the finish line, fainted from exhaustion. 

Move along, nothing to see here... https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/red-bull-admits-front-bib-device-exists-but-plan-agreed-with-fia/10663585/

Move along, nothing to see here... https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/red-bull-admits-front-bib-device-exists-but-plan-agreed-with-fia/10663585/

In reply to 06HHR (Forum Supporter) :

Shocker RBR is possibly not operating above board. 😐

Sounds like kind of a non-issue unless I'm missing something....From The Athletic: 

"Red Bull has now also faced technical scrutiny from its rivals, who raised concerns ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix that it could have been able to use the front bib to alter the ride height of the car after the start of qualifying, when cars are under parc fermé conditions and the setup cannot be adjusted. The concerns over the device led to the FIA informing teams ahead of this week in Austin that there would be some extra checks to ensure the front bib could not be easily adjusted, such as adding a seal to ensure compliance. The FIA said via a spokesman that although it had “not received any indication of any team employing such a system,” it remained vigilant in its policing of the sport, prompting the addition of extra procedures. A senior Red Bull team representative confirmed to The Athletic that the device exists but said it was “inaccessible once the car is fully assembled and ready to run.” They added that “in the numerous correspondence we have with the FIA, this part came up and we have agreed a plan going forward.” It is not uncommon for teams to hold regular technical discussions with the FIA over designs on their cars in the event of rivals raising questions. McLaren made a tweak to its low downforce rear wing design after Baku following similar talks. Verstappen and teammate Sergio Pérez denied that the plan over the bib would have any impact on Red Bull’s on-track performance. Pérez said it would have “zero” effect on the team. Verstappen explained that it was “just an easy tool” to help adjust the ride height when the parts were off the car. “But once the whole car is built together, you can’t touch it,” he added. “So for us, it doesn’t change (anything).” “There’s nothing we were doing with it,” Pérez added. He said he “knew it existed, but it was not available to us.” Verstappen did not even realize the clampdown was related to Red Bull. “When I read it, I was like thinking about other teams doing it, and then I found out it was related to our team,” Verstappen said. “We never even mentioned it or anything. It was just an easier tool to adjust (the ride height).”"

I'm still much more curious about what happened to the pace of the RedBull and if any of the G-force based brake bias adjustment stuff was true (as in if they had to remove a system like that that killed their pace). 

It's hard to see Lando winning a championship when he is making mistakes that give up spots like that. Almost cost him 3rd even. 

That was a hard fought sprint.  I'm excited for race quali and race to see who till has something in the bank.

I am becoming a bit of a broken record here, but I am shocked at the Ferrari tire life turnaround since last year.

I can see Carlos on the top step tomorrow. 

Fun sprint.

Crazy after so many seasons some of the teams seems to not really grasp their cars. Especially Mercedes. One thing you have to give RBR is that they have the most robust design, as it's really weak tracks are about the specific track vs the conditions. 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

I was at that race around the Cotton Bowl in '84.  For whatever reason, it was held in July.  It wasn't that they had concrete in the corners to begin with, it was that the F1 cars and the Can-Am cars that were the support race cornered so hard, the asphalt was crumbling in the heat.  They tried everything to make the asphalt work, but had to use the concrete patches to get through the race.

I used to have the Fly Saudia shirt that a guy standing outside the gate gave me.  I was a huge Prost/McLaren fan, but it was free, so I took it anyways.  Prost and Lauda dropped out of the race 1 lap apart, and in the same corner, and Keke Rosberg went on to win in the Williams, sponsored by Fly Saudia.

Charles!!  What a start!

Lewis riding dirty.

Sucks for Norris there, too bad he didn't dive bomb the corner like max did to stay in front. And bad advice from his team to not give the spot back. 

How the berkeley does Norris get a penalty for that when both cars left the track?

Some inconsistent stewardship this race.

If Norris had given the place back would Max have gotten the 5 second penalty for forcing a driver off the track? Same penalty Russell got, right? 

In reply to steronz :

Absolutely, and there was no brake bias in use earlier this year too. Look away FIA, nothing to see here 🤣

Good race.  I kinda expected Carlos to win, but the Ferraris were the class of the field today.

Sucks for Lando, but that's consistent, I guess.  I though Max having all 4 off might be the only save.

George.  Nice drive.  Lewis... not so much.

steronz said:

If Norris had given the place back would Max have gotten the 5 second penalty for forcing a driver off the track? Same penalty Russell got, right? 

George got it, but others didn't. I get not giving one to max going into turn one at the start, since it's the start and all. But it didn't seem he made an attempt to leave a car space since he had two off the road, too. 
 

Oh, well. 

Well, officiating aside, I thought it was a great race - even tho Charles did head off into the sunset - but there sure was a lot of great stuff going on in the rest of the race!

Gasly looked good in the early going but the team strategy didn't work for him.

But I really want to give a shout out to Lawson and Colapinto - both looking like they belong on the grid, and I hope they both wind up with a good drive for next season.

I read that Honda is making a big push for Tsunoda to be in Perez's seat next season.......I'm a little surprised at that actually, considering they'll be Aston's power unit - you'd think they'd want him in that one, but maybe they recognize that it;s just not going to happen for him at Aston unless Alonso leaves.

Haas is also having a pretty good year, I think while Gene needed Gunter to get the team up and running, it was time for him to step down. It feels like the team is much better focused and organized since he left.

Who were the Stewards at the COTA race? I've tried to find this information but can't

In reply to MiniDave :

Yeah I should have started with that. It was a good race. I like that COTA allows drivers to run different lines. It makes for a pretty interesting race. 

Sat looked like recent era Max was back to winning ways followed by today when old Max returned with his style of "defending" on full display.

 Don't know how the sporting regs settled on the who's corner it is nonsense but its ruining more races then helps.

 With the corner 1 cock up by Max costing Lando 3 spots and going unmentioned I would've added that into the picture for the 2nd one and ignored it as well or given Max the penalty for forcing a driver off track twice.

 Otherwise a very entertaining race :)

In reply to steronz :

I am not saying I agree with the rule as written, but it would be tough to call George ahead at the apex while Max with his divebomb was clearly ahead.

My biggest gripe with the rule as it is written, is the intent vs. the legal application.  Max is technically driving within the rule by getting to the apex first, but is in actuality dive bombing the corner to get to the apex first.  The line of attack results in a wide corner exit line that forces anyone outside him to go off track or realize contact with him.