sadboy @mlksadi - Twitter Profile

about 1 month ago

@Msc9091 https://t.co/4iTCuQziFi This suggests material issues. Sometimes you get one that works, sometimes you out of luck

Zach Brown

@the_zb_

about 1 month ago

The brakes situation at Ferrari is a conundrum. We can deduce some things, but there’s a lot we don’t know. Ferrari have been Brembo exclusive partners forever. All drivers within the team will be accustomed to their performance profile, but also the majority of drivers on the grid deploy Brembo. No driver who came up through Ferrari would be allowed to use an alternate supplier. As recently as ‘22 and ‘23, Brembo powered Ferraris were among the top braking performers on the grid. As a lifelong CI advocate and a non-Ferrari upbringing, Lewis brings fresh perspective and input here. Brembo seem to have what is being described as a materials inconsistency - some work fine, others don’t. Lewis described it in ‘25 as “a lottery”, and ‘26 seems the same. According to AutoRacer, there have been internal complaints about consistency since ‘24. Is this a Ferrari design issue? A Brembo production issue? Both? Unknown to us at the moment, but several other teams are using Brembo to great effect. That’s disconcerting. In the immediate future, if they can’t deliver consistency there’s no short term option but to switch suppliers. But what about the ramifications of switching to CI components, namely discs and pads? This gets fascinating. Needed modifications for master cylinder and caliper, sure. Critically, the brake by wire system would have to be recalibrated to the response of the discs and pads. They’ve already done this for Lewis’ car. But what is the knock on effect of the switch? Is it performance gain, or consistency gain? This is where Ferrari may be caught between a rock and a hard place. In the last 3 races, we have seen a few mini trends: 1. Lewis has shown more consistent braking in SF-26 - especially since the split to CI 2. Charles has struggled more with tyre prep in qualifying than Lewis, thermally 3. In race stints, Lewis has complained more about wheel-spin, overheating rears, and a bit worse deg 4. Lewis has had to perform more brake related LiCo in races than Charles What part of this is related to the brakes vs driving styles? It would appear that the more consistent braking right now is provided by the CI disc and pad. Compounds are perhaps better at thermal consistency and materials consistency? And/or their material composition doesn’t struggle with the extremes as the Brembo’s do? Or they bite better even when cold? It may benefit a flying lap for tyre prep, but could also impact race stints. Brake by wire systems blend MGU-K resistance with physical discs’ stopping power for a given brake pedal input, and the handoff when the ES is full and BbW shifts from MGU-K to full disc stopping power is a big issue in ‘26, as the discs are often outside of ideal thermals at the rear… Brembo’s seem to respond irrationally, the brakes sometimes do and sometimes don’t bite and just switch off thermally. If you’ve ever used cold carbon ceramic rotors on a road car… ouch. Exhibit, Monaco. But the inconsistencies may not be entirely new. If CI solved this in ‘26 by retaining more heat or responding to the BbW transition better when cold, it seems to have a thermal impact in race trim - maybe in a negative way? I say this, because quali prep for Lewis has been consistently better. But in race stints, he has also clearly suffered more thermal issues - overheating the rears, sliding, brake related LiCo, and a bit more deg… but he also knows the car will stop when requested by the pedal and is suddenly more confident on the brakes. Is that tradeoff worth it? For now, absolutely. Maybe the Brembo’s could be kinder over stints, but suffer so badly in quali warmup or inconsistent response it’s impossible to stick with them short term vs the CI option. In Ferrari’s perfect world, CI solve any thermal issues impacting race stint effectiveness, and Brembo solve the inconsistencies or response problems for quali warmup and erratic braking. Ferrari brakes could be broke.