Lewis Hamilton continues his adaptation course of to a Ferrari that he nonetheless struggles to interpret like Charles Leclerc does. The Briton commented that he had switched to a brand new automobile which required a special driving type and completely different settings. There are various variations between the Pink automobiles and the Silver Arrows, together with braking, which is an space the place the British driver has constructed a lot of his Formulation 1 success over time. Not solely do the Maranello automobiles have a special braking system from Mercedes, however additionally they rely extra on engine braking to help nook entry, requiring an applicable driving type.
The seven-time Formulation 1 world champion is experiencing all of the challenges of driving for a crew completely different from the one he raced with for 12 years. Lewis Hamilton is studying all of the variations between Ferrari and Mercedes, noticeable in lots of areas, particularly from suspension conduct to steadiness, from engine vibrations to energy unit supply. Nevertheless, there may be one essential side limiting certainly one of his best strengths: braking.
Lewis Hamilton advised SkySport F1 that he was utilizing engine braking, which he had by no means used earlier than, and that the brakes had been additionally very completely different. He defined that Ferrari used Brembo, whereas for the previous 15 years he had used Carbone Industrie. The remark will not be meant as a criticism of the Italian firm, whose merchandise are extremely regarded on the grid and chosen by most groups. It isn’t a matter of higher or worse high quality, however merely behavior with a system used for a few years that behaved in a different way. A part of Lewis Hamilton’s difficulties additionally doesn’t stem from the discs or calipers, however from one thing else: engine braking.
At this level, let’s check out how a Formulation 1 automobile brakes. Each single-seater makes use of a hydraulic system to function the entrance brake discs, which can also be current on the rear, the place the scenario is extra advanced. A Formulation 1 automobile makes use of three completely different braking contributions on the rear wheels, certainly one of which is the hydraulic system controlling the discs. The second is the regenerative braking from the MGU-Okay, the electrical generator that recharges the battery throughout braking, producing braking drive within the course of. The final is engine braking, brought on by inner friction within the inner combustion engine which slows down its rotation when the throttle is launched and gasoline injection stops.
The system that coordinates these three contributions is BBW, which is brief for Brake By Wire. When the motive force presses the brake, an digital sensor registers the pedal enter. At that time, the management unit fulfills the request: an actuator generates strain within the rear hydraulic circuit, compensating its drive with that of the engine braking and regenerative braking, in an effort to exactly match the motive force’s enter.
Balancing the braking forces throughout the 4 wheels is essential to assist rotate the automobile right into a nook. The very best-known adjustment is brake bias, which defines the steadiness between the forces utilized by the entrance and rear brakes. One other management is brake migration, which throughout nook entry progressively shifts the brake bias towards the rear. This manner, the entrance tires apply much less longitudinal drive, gaining extra lateral grip to steer. In flip, how the braking drive is cut up on the rear among the many hydraulic system, MGU-Okay, and engine braking additional influences the automobile’s conduct.
So let’s check out the significance of engine braking. In contrast to the hydraulic system that acts on the carbon discs, the MGU-Okay and engine braking straight sluggish the driveshaft. The differential then distributes the braking torque between the internal and outer rear wheels, albeit barely asymmetrically. This small asymmetry, if effectively utilized, can assist the automobile rotate towards the apex. Think about a ship the place the rowers on the correct facet paddle in the other way of these on the left—the canoe would spin on itself. Equally, an excavator steers by having its tracks push in reverse instructions. The precept is comparable in a Formulation 1 automobile, with the distinction that the rear wheels don’t brake in reverse instructions, however merely with barely completely different intensities.
Due to this fact, the extra drive exerted by the MGU-Okay and engine braking, the larger the oversteer or understeer impact at nook entry, relying additionally on the differential settings. It’s unclear whether or not Lewis Hamilton was referring to each contributions or particularly to that from the inner combustion engine. The latter, in truth, is unbiased of brake pedal enter and disappears solely when the motive force will get again on the throttle. It could possibly due to this fact be an extra software within the moments simply earlier than the apex, braking the rear wheels to assist the automobile rotate.
Engine braking will not be unique to Ferrari, however is current on all automobiles, with the Maranello crew evidently utilizing it extra aggressively than Mercedes. Simply two years in the past, there was speak of Pink Bull’s “handbrake,” a mysterious setting steered by way of radio to Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, which has by no means been absolutely defined and maybe continues to be in use. The idea was that it concerned a specific mixture of brake migration, MGU-Okay, and engine braking parameters to decisively sluggish the rear wheels—an method resembling, in a milder type, the approach rally drivers use after they pull the handbrake lever to deal with a hairpin.
Engine braking stays a central software in fashionable Formulation 1, with devoted knobs on the steering wheel to regulate its depth. To take advantage of it, nonetheless, requires correct driving approach. For instance, how rapidly a driver downshifts determines the engine revs throughout braking, which have an effect on inner friction and the braking contribution. Moreover, engine braking destabilizes the automobile’s rear axis to assist rotate it, doubtlessly depriving the motive force of the boldness wanted to dive into the nook—particularly if not used to it. It’s yet one more problem for Lewis Hamilton, who at 40 should adapt his driving type to stay probably the greatest brakers on the grid.
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