In the Barcelona tests, the teams worked on the track to collect as much data as possible and thus understand the operation of the new single-seaters, having to deal, among other things, with the porpoising that has caused so much talk.
The issue of braking, at least for now, seems to have been in the background in the priorities of the teams, however, it will surely end up gaining prominence in the three days of testing in Sakhir before the Bahrain Grand Prix.
According to a very authoritative source in this regard, the drivers “will have to adapt their driving style to the different way of braking” once they actually compete with the 2022 F1 cars.
Ground effect cars generate 50% of their downforce from the Venturi tunnels, with only 25% coming from the front and rear wings. There are cars that have already reached 60% in the first aspect and that can have a direct impact on braking.
Why? The answer is simple and we could see it precisely in the Barcelona tests: the drivers had to face porposing , a legacy of the 80s that is repeated due to the reintroduction of ground effect in the cars.
Due to these jumps caused by porpoising , the cars suffer sudden losses of downforce that can make them unstable during the delicate moment of braking: with the arrival of 18-inch tires, the braking system has been improved with the use of larger carbon discs, as the diameter went from 278mm in 2021 to 325-328mm in 2022.
The dimensions of the brake disc from 2022.
Brembo has introduced a new material that is perfectly adapted to the limitation of 3mm diameter ventilation holes and that has a number between 1,000 and 1,100 holes, while last year they had reached a maximum of 1,480.
The properties of the material developed by the Bergamo multinational are such that the bite of the brake pedal has changed: if until last year the “response” of the brakes was represented by a graph that drew a hyperbolic curve with the peak at its point taller, today we see a straight diagonal line reflecting an increase in grip.
Drivers are therefore in the awkward position of having to deal with cars coming to the braking point with a sudden and sharp loss of downforce.
Max Verstappen’s braking past in the Barcelona tests
The result is very predictable: riders, even the most reputable ones, will be forced to review and change their braking form if they don’t want to suffer from sudden and unexpected lock-ups, or even worse, long excursions on the run-offs.
It will be very important for the rider to find a different feel with the brake pedal in order to find the right balance with a force of up to 160kg that will be required to achieve maximum grip on the disc and pad, in an attempt to control the jumps caused by ground effect.
