Brakes Likely to be a Problem, Warns Fisichella

Formula One cars may have become too quick for their brakes, Italian Giancarlo Fisichella said on Thursday.

Speaking before Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix, the Sauber driver feared the fast circuit renowned for heavy brake wear could impose more of a burden than ever as speeds continued to rise.

"It is very critical this year for the brakes, especially because we run with very high temperatures front and rear and it is quite difficult to find good brake ducts for the cooling," said Fisichella.

"The lap times are very quick, they did big improvements on the tyre development and I think that Formula One is now maybe a bit too quick."

Ferrari's six times World Champion Michael Schumacher won in Canada last year but even he was troubled by brake problems throughout the latter stages of that race.

McLaren technical director Adrian Newey told Britain's weekly Autosport magazine published on Thursday that he felt that Formula One cars were getting dangerously close to the safety limits.

"We're pulling such high loads under braking now that we've had problems with discs cracking, and that's really a concern throughout the industry," he said. "We had a disc failure in Bahrain and I know other teams have had disc failures, although not necessarily at race meetings.

"The grip of the tyres and the down force we now have means the loads on the brakes are enormous. Being limited to a 28mm disc and 13-inch rim is making it all quite marginal and it is starting to become a safety concern."

McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, who has finished just two races for the troubled team this year, agreed that brake wear could be crucial to Sunday's race.

"It's going to be harder for brakes and for all the other parts also, because we're going three or four seconds quicker than the year before," he said.

"On the circuits where we didn't use to have any problems with the brake cooling or brakes, we have already had (problems) this year," added Raikkonen. "Coming here is going to be difficult but we will see how it goes."