During the summer break, the Formula One media reported en masse a rule change the FIA were bringing in to take effect in Zandvoort. Given mid-season rule changes are not the norm, this raised eyebrows across the paddock in wonder at which team this was targeted towards.
Asymmetric braking was clearly illegal under the rules prior to the FIA’s tweak, this is something used in Indycar on ovals to help the car turn in better. Article 11.1.2 of Formula 1’s technical regulations read: “The brake system must be designed so that within each circuit, the forces applied to the brake pads are the same magnitude and act as opposing pairs on a given brake disc.”
So across each axle the pressure from the left and right brakes on the wheels must be exactly the same. Now the FIA have tagged on the following: “Any system or mechanism which can produce systematically or intentionally, asymmetric braking torques for a given axle is forbidden.”
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This addition specifically addresses the pressures on each wheel. The new rule prevents a lower pressure being applied to the inside brake disc than on the outside which would allow the team to address the conflict between low speed understeer and high speed oversteer with greater force being applied to the outer calliper which would reduce understeer.
Ex-Ferrari boss and F1 commentator Peter Windsor immediately posted on X that Red Bull could be running “a clever cross-brake inertia valve before they were obliged to remove it before Miami,” he posted on twitter today. This trick in effect would give assisted steering into a corner.”
Self made F1 tech expert Scarbs responded: “This makes sense and underlined by the tech reg change. A return of the Newey fiddle brake, but automatic & creating a turning moment with the rear brakes.
“A simple weighted valve in the rear brake splitter could do this altering the effort between the callipers as the car turns.”
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Red Bull first suspects
The circumstantial evidence cited in support of Red Bull running a system now to be outlawed by the FIA was the repeated complaints over team radio from Max Verstappen that his brakes aren’t right. In Melbourne Verstappen lost his ten race winning streak when his brakes caught fire and one exposed at the pit lane entry.
As the Melbourne race continued, Verstappen explained to the assembled media that the problem felt like a handbrake was being applied by the car. Charles Leclerc had reported something similar earlier in Bahrain and so Brembo (the manufacturer) initiated an investigation into whether their was a failure on their part.
They later issued a statement: ”After an investigation at each team, the problems that Leclerc and Verstappen had are not related to Brembo component anomalies or material malfunctions.
“In both case the problem came from a wrong setup/team choice regarding the car configuration (but we don’t have more details, this is the teams’ information) so there is not a direct Brembo responsibility on both car problems.”
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Brembo designs the F1 braking components to apply the pressure on a single brake disc equally, yet teams could modify them with their in house engineering capabilities.
In China again Max was complaining about the brakes although this time the matter was resolved and he went on to win the Grand Prix. Add into the mix that Verstappen’s style of driving suits the reception in low speed understeer, something this system provides.
There rests the case for it being a Red Bull inspired change in regulations by the FIA. Yet now reports are coming from the Netherlands that is McLaren and Mercedes who will suffer the most from the clarification over asymmetric braking. motorsport.com claims they too are associated with “such cleverness” and speculates on the pecking order come this weekend in Zandvoort.
Meantime the FIA have now denied any of the F1 teams were cheating, but rather the wording of the rule change has been designed to ensure teams do not fall foul of the spirit of the regulation in the future.
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FIA deny any teams cheating
An FIA spokesperson told Motorsport.com: “There is no truth that any team was using such a system.” As the old adage goes, theres no smoke without fire, so it remains suspicious why the FIA tweaked the braking rule mid-season.
The F1 teams will now be mainly focused on next seasons cars and its difficult to believe one team would spend the last ten races of the year bringing this kind of technology to the car.
One voice cried “Bulls**t!” when reading the speculation that Red Bull and Max had deployed an asymmetric braking system. One of the most prominent engineers in the Red Bull garage, Calum Nicholas challenged Windsor’s view:
“Yea… this is bulls***…. Unsurprisingly,” he hit back. Asked by a fan for his thought process, he replied: “I’ve been building the car for the last 14 races, he hasn’t.”
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Red Bull qualifying margin still huge
For all the talk of Red Bull losing their way with Max Verstappen winning just three of the last nine Grand Prix, the world champion has made the Dutch Grand Prix his own since its return in 2021. Max has led every meaningful on track session in Zandvoort winning all three of the Grand Prix since the venue returned to the F1 calendar.
Further, analysis from f1technical.com demonstrates Red Bull still have a sizeable margin in qualifying. Max has claimed nine of the fourteen pole positions this year and his average time behind the pole sitter is just 0.7 seconds for all dry sessions.
McLaren are next best on average 0.36s behind the best qualifier with Ferrari next at almost half a second (0.47s). Having won three of the last four races Mercedes are on a high, but their average gap to the pole sitter is woeful for a top team coming in at 0.63s.
Max would have started from pole in Spa last time out, only for an engine penalty saw him awarded a ten place grid drop.
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Earlier this year, Horner faced serious allegations made by a female member of staff at the British-based Formula One team, accusing him of controlling behaviour. The 50-year-old Horner, who shares a country estate near Banbury with his wife, Spice Girl Geri, has consistently denied these claims.
Despite his firm denials and a subsequent internal investigation that resulted in his acquittal for a second time, questions remain about the lasting impact of the “Horner affair” and whether the matter is truly settled… READ MORE
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How does FIA expect teams to compete with each other at all. Every clever invention teams find to get better than another team, is blocked by rules.
Just stop pretending their is competition, give all teams the same car and move on.
McLaren would be the most likely team to have been guilty, because their Mclaren Indy team uses asymmetrical braking.