Important regulatory developments planned for the 2017 Formula One World Championship have resulted in a new technological challenge for Brembo, according to the company. The company says it is preparing for its 42nd season in the premier motorsport series with a substantial change of brake systems supplied to the top teams participating in the championship.

With wider tires for 2017, F1 cars will be able to develop greater braking torques. Brembo engineers have focused on the redesign of the individual elements composing the systems, starting from the brake calipers, which have to adapt to the increased thickness of the discs, from 28mm to current 32mm, to maximization of the Brake-by-Wire (BBW) components.

The increased size of the carbon discs has allowed the technical team to strengthen the design of the discs pressure point, increasing the overall braking capability, the company says. The greater thickness also allows more space for ventilation holes, causing further evolution of the braking cooling system. The teams supplied by the Italian company can then count on a personalized cooling design, with an average increase of about 200 ventilation holes for each disc, compared to more than 1,200 in 2016 leading to an improvement of heat dissipation, remembering that the temperature of the discs in F1 can exceed 1,832 degrees R (1,000 degrees C) during braking.

Thanks to the exchange of information with partner teams, simulations related to the behavior of the new cars and the dynamic bench tests, the engineers have been able to estimate an increase of braking torque of around 25 percent, which will bring the braking to more than 6Gs in deceleration.

The cars will be able to transmit greater braking force on the ground in a shorter time, with a possible decrease in the average lap time spent braking, according to Brembo.

As no one yet knows the level of grip of the new generation of Pirelli tire, Brembo technicians have continued to work closely with the teams in order to give the drivers optimum friction performance, effective braking modulation and contained wear.

Formula 1 requires an extensive customization of braking systems resulting in the different design solutions of F1 cars. Each team supplied by Brembo requires a brake system that is increasingly “tailor-made,” closely integrated with the design of the car and subject to continual development throughout the season.

For this reason the brake calipers have been totally redesigned for each supplied team, to integrate with the aerodynamic solutions developed by each team, trying to keep optimal lightness and stiffness, despite the increased size of the disc.