Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website Breaking on the limit of the first turns of the 2018 Formula 1 Austrian GP
june 28, 2018 - Brembo Racing

Breaking on the limit of the first turns of the 2018 Formula 1 Austrian GP


The #redbullring torments braking systems, but only in one section.

A week after the French GP, #formula1 stay in the heart of Europe for the 9th event of the 2018 World Championship. The theater for the Austrian GP is the #redbullring, inaugurated in May 2011 and situated near Spielberg, in Styria. 

Although being more or less the same length as the Budapest and Montreal circuits (all 4,3 km give or take ten meters) the Austrian circuit is the only one in the World Championship where a lap takes less than 65 seconds: last year Valtteri Bottas took pole position with his Mercedes in only 1’04’’251. 

This is thanks to the high speeds achieved but also to the small number of bends, only 4 of which require the use of brakes for more than one second. The many undulations of the track complicate the drivers' choice of timing braking: from the highest to the lowest point there is in fact a 65 meter difference in level. 

According to #brembo technicians, who have classified the 21 World Championship tracks, the #redbullring can be considered one of the mostdemanding tracks for brakes. 

The demand on the brakes during the GP

During each lap brakes are used 7 times, for less than nine and a half seconds in total, 4 tenths less than on the Monza track. From start to the checkered flag, braked are in action for a total of 11 minutes, equal to 15 per cent of the whole race.

Brakes are used even less in the second half of the track, from the Rauch curve (T6) onwards: if in fact in the first half drivers use the brakes for 6 and a half seconds, in the second part they use them for less than 3 seconds.

The maximum deceleration is also affected by this variation: from an average of 4,7 g in the first section to 4 g in the next. Consequently the average track deceleration is 4,3 g, the same as for Barcelona. 

The energy dissipated during braking in the whole GP from each single-seater is quite limited: 147 kWh, equal to the energy needed to operate around 49 mechanical bulls. 

During the whole race, a driver uses his brakes a little less than 500 times, exerting a total load of 62 tons on the brake pedal, that is very close to three times the weight of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart CDs sold worldwide in 2017.

The most demanding braking sections

Of the 7 #redbullring braking points 4 are classified as hard on the brakes, 2 are of medium difficulty and 1 light. 


The most challenging for the braking system is the Castrol bend (T1): the single-seaters approach at 317 km/h and in only 1,81 seconds they decrease to 144 km/h. To manage this, drivers must exert a pressure of 151 kg on the braking pedals, and decelerate by 4,8 g. With the brake pressed the vehicles travel for 106 meters, almost the length of Salzburg Cathedral.


Drivers are subjected to a 4,8 g deceleration also on the Schlossgold bend (T4) thanks to the 313 km/h that they reach on the straights. The entrance speed on the bend is inferior to the Remus bend: the single-seaters enter the bend at 110 km/h. This last one requires the use of brakes for 2,34 seconds and pedal load of “only” 146 kg.

Brembo performance

Single-seaters with #brembo brakes have won all the last 6 Austrian GPs. This is one of the few tracks in the world where Sebastian Vettel has not yet triumphed.

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