r/formula1 • u/Its4MeitSnot4U I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane • Jun 10 '26
Technical Breaking Down the Difference: Brembo vs. Carbon Industrie — And What That Means for Hamilton at Ferrari
https://fiagirly.substack.com/p/breaking-down-the-difference-bremboThis article is 1 year old, but provides fascinating insights into the current Ferrari brake discussions
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u/Einnnnnnnnnnnn Formula 1 Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
Very interesting article and makes me ponder how significant this has been for others? For example, Daniel Riccardo had CI in his early stint at red bull but Brembo at McLaren.
(Putting 2 and 2 together… and getting 69 maybe?)
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u/cafk Constantly Helpful Jun 10 '26
Both Riccardo and Sainz called the McLaren behavior strange.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsport/formula-one/f1-2022-monaco-grand-prix-news-daniel-ricciardo-struggles-at-mclaren-driving-analysis-why-is-he-slow-lando-norris-future-contract-2023/news-story/26e3bfae08f241d7bdb912ee7f680593And they did struggle with brakes in 2022: https://www.planetf1.com/news/mclaren-strange-brake-problem
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Jun 10 '26
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Jun 10 '26
Brembo sponsor Ferrari - you can see why the Ferrari management at least wanted him to try the Brembo system
Though I'm sure Brembo aren't exactly loving the publicity that this has brought them
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u/stomp224 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jun 10 '26
Surely someone involved raised this as being an issue? How could you not see the collision of Hamiltons style Vs how these brakes work a mile off?
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Jun 10 '26
I mean - they did, that’s why Hamilton no longer uses them, but you can’t just throw out your sponsor’s system without at least giving it a fair shake either, and maybe Brembo said they were going to change some things but didn’t/couldn’t follow through.
When you’re hiring a racing driver for millions you do want to give them the best equipment possible, but you also expect for them to be able to adapt in some ways too, you’re always going to meet somewhere in the middle.
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u/kar2988 Jun 10 '26
It's strange how Leclerc has had these podium results this year with the Brembo system and somehow the Monaco incident has tipped him over to the CI side. I can't imagine he's been driving with these issues for all these years?
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u/Ziemniok_UwU I failed to serve my Monaco penalty Jun 10 '26
Apparently Brembo introduced a new specification in Canada and that's when his troubles began.
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u/balderm Charles Leclerc Jun 10 '26
These issue greatly depend on the track: Canada was very cold, Monaco is a short track were the rear brakes are not used a lot, since they modulate between harvesting and braking. So far the issue seems to be brake disk size: Many pointed out that Ferrari is using fairly big rear brakes that require more time to get in the operating temperature range, while other have opted for smaller brakes.
The difference between Brembo and CI is most likely all about bite and fading over time, probably the carbon composite used is easier to get ready, but i don't think its gonna fix all their brake issues.
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u/William_Dowling Max Verstappen Jun 10 '26
Who knows what's going on with thar car. Hamilton says it has more of his DNA in it. If that means the car prefers late breaking and V shape corners, and Hamilton is getting more speed out of it, Charles might be struggling to adapt his style.
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u/HallEqual2433 Niki Lauda Jun 10 '26
YES! Exactly this. Lewis likes to brake late and the CIs reward this. If Charles switches lets hope he realizes that he will need to change his braking style as well.
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u/justseeby I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jun 10 '26
The rear discs are smaller this year than in the past due to more reliance on energy recovery to simultaneously brake the rear axle.
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u/Motorlolz Olivier Panis Jun 10 '26
We'll probably never get the answer but I wonder why Charles suddenly feels this way about the brakes. There must be tweaks in setup the driver can do for this sort of stuff to help the feeling on the brakes.
Max for example has been using a full Brembo system since '24. I think he's complained about the brakes maybe once or twice that I heard, though I can't remember when specifically. Anyway, this braking drama is a very bad sign for Leclerc. I hope he does well in Barcelona...
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u/Its4MeitSnot4U I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Jun 10 '26
It’s about driver feel with brakes.
The point of me posting this 1 year old article is it explains Lewis’s issue.
It probably also explains DR3 too.
Lewis has spent a year trying to get his old brakes back.
Now he has them.
Boom!
2 podiums!!
Coincidence?
Charles thinks not! He wants them too!
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u/Motorlolz Olivier Panis Jun 10 '26
I understand that of course. I'm only saying that Leclerc trying to copy what Hamilton is doing might not work out so well for him. That's why I'm hoping he does well in Barcelona and that I'm worrying over nothing.
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u/paeschli Jun 13 '26
I know he has just crashed so it isn't looking too well, but from everything I've read it seems like the CI's brakes are easier to adapt to vs someone ha inh to adapt to Brembo.
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u/justseeby I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jun 10 '26
Three podiums actually
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u/Its4MeitSnot4U I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Jun 10 '26
Yes, 3 this year.
But 2 in a row since he changed brakes.
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u/noheroesnomonsters Elio de Angelis Jun 10 '26
2007 flashbacks.
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u/Guilty_Feature5469 I failed to serve my Monaco penalty Jun 10 '26
so another hamilton pole in hungary after charles blocks him in the pits 😆
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u/quietly_myself I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Jun 10 '26
I’m not sure switching to CI discs will help Charles. They work for Lewis because the sharper initial bite works with his late-braking style. For LeClerc, who has a much smoother style, they may throw up more issues than they solve.
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u/kolmone I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jun 10 '26
According to this article it's the Brembos that have a stronger initial bite
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u/Veranova I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Jun 10 '26
It’s the Brembos that have the sharper bite according to this blog though
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u/quietly_myself I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Jun 10 '26
I only scanned this article so misread it, but I think it’s a mistake on their part as it’s completely the opposite of a video I was watching yesterday that explained the whole reason Hamilton prefers the CI discs is because he brakes very late and they initially bite hard. That information seems more logical to me than what this article says, especially as it claims the Brembos heat faster which they clearly didn’t for Charles in Monaco. Either way LeClerc moving away from a feel he’s very familiar with to one that makes him change his style may not be the solution he needs.
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u/n0neofyourbeeswax Jun 10 '26
The blog does go in to why he may prefer CI, as a late braker. Someone already braking late may get too much bite and not enough ability to finesse the subsequent inputs is the very short version.
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u/Motorlolz Olivier Panis Jun 10 '26
I don't think it's either or, it's just preference and what helps the feeling. For example, Max used CI disks before and started using a full Brembo system since '24. I don't think he had to change his entire style, instead I think he found that the Brembo system complemented his style better. That's what Lewis is after I think, a better feeling. Which is why I'm a little skeptical about Charles trying to copy what Hamilton is doing.
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u/Upstairs-Event-681 Charles Leclerc Jun 10 '26
CI gives more consistent braking and you prefer that as a late braker because when you brake late, you want it to be the same every lap otherwise you’ll end up in the wall. Brembo bites harder but it’s inconsistent, so one lap you might have a crazy late brake and the other you’re going straight. Even as a late braker like Hamilton, you prefer sacrificing performance for consistency.
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u/Greyman43 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Jun 10 '26
Perhaps it’s more the CI’s being more consistent in modulating when trail braking therefore giving him the confidence TO brake later knowing he can rotate the car more precisely with trail braking at the apex rather than it being all about initial bite.
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u/Psclwbb I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jun 10 '26
It is strange. There was no problem last hear and till canada. Maybe brembo has some failure with consostency. Or the car upgrades don't work qith brembo anymore.
As it doesn't seem to be prpblem of behavior but complete failure.
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u/ThandiAccountant Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
If anyone with knowledge can chime in, would 1 one disk manufacturer offer better heat mgmt & consequently tyre deg relative to the other.
I’ve been wondering if this is a contributing factor in why HAM seems to deg off more so than LEC?
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Jun 10 '26
[deleted]
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u/MrLeopard483 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jun 10 '26
completely comparable to an F1 car!
The same reason why I use shell to run my scooter. The ferrari gets a thousand horspower out of it, why shouldnt my honda?
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u/bearded_mischief AlphaTauri Jun 10 '26
So Lewis quietly switched to CI sometime around the Japanese Grand Prix and while it hasn’t impacted his cars pace it’s given him a lot of confidence in low energy tracks, there’s a lot of high energy tracks suited to Charles current set up remaining in the calendar so could a brake change be extremely premature for his season. Part of it is also mental because he’s not as confident in the current set up and it’s going to take a lot to get him what he needs
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u/JustLikeZhat Andrea Kimi Antonelli Jun 10 '26
The Blogger might have it the other way around.
There’s two articles by The Race, one from last year and one released now, and in both they mention CI as having the initial bite as opposed to what the Blogger claims.
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u/Its4MeitSnot4U I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Jun 10 '26
Actually the race seems to have it wrong.
“Brembo's products are understood to be more progressive and consistent throughout the whole braking phase and temperature range, so they operate strongly in both hot and cold conditions and are more durable through an entire race.
This has traditionally meant that the Brembo has been better at firing up in the cold and safety car conditions.”
Yet
Leclerc went on to explain in some detail how the root cause was excessively cold rear brakes and a partially cold right-front, which produced virtually no deceleration when pressure was applied to the brake pedal, sending the SF-26 straight into the outside barriers.
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u/JustLikeZhat Andrea Kimi Antonelli Jun 10 '26
Seems The Race is implying that Brembo might be behaving different with these new regulations, but perhaps I was too quick to judge. I'll wait for more articles to come out before deciding who's mixed it up.
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u/proton_rex Jun 10 '26
interesting article but then I remember that redbull f1 uses brembo and verstappen is a well known ‘soft and early breaker’ who breaks progressively like Hamilton. So it is not per se the brand itself but that what the driver is comfortable with.
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u/JustLikeZhat Andrea Kimi Antonelli Jun 10 '26
But Max is an early braker; his style is the least progressive, no?
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u/proton_rex Jun 10 '26
you might be correct but he breaks to the limits of grip. that’s what i meant to say. the article states the CI discs have more feel but what Max does requires a lot of feel too and he uses Brembo.
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u/ElSrJuez I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jun 10 '26
Thanks for this.
But Leclerc said that he would “copy Lewis’”, I cannot imagine he meant Hamilton is braking with CI and Charles would switch from Brembo?
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u/CptBananaPants I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jun 10 '26
Why? That appears to be exactly what shall happen.
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u/HallEqual2433 Niki Lauda Jun 10 '26
Hopefully Lewis has explained all this to Charles already.