The ultra-light material behind a remarkable F1 attribute
A Formula 1 car’s brakes are manufactured using a pure form of carbon, and it is this that makes for outstanding performance in the hunt for a good laptime explains PAT SYMONDS
Whenever a group of car enthusiasts gather to talk about performance it’s not long before acceleration numbers are bandied about. Very rarely does braking performance get the bragging rights. In absolute terms a Formula 1 car’s acceleration is impressive but not necessarily outstanding, since some hypercars now have power-to-weight ratios approaching that of an F1 car and tyre grip becomes a limiting factor. When it comes to braking, however, it’s a very different story.
One of the best-performing road cars, the Bugatti Veyron, can brake at around 1.3g. In this context ‘g’ is a measure of deceleration and is equivalent to losing about 22mph every second. An F1 car’s peak braking deceleration is around 5g, meaning it could lose that 22mph in a tenth of a second.
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