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 distinct driving type and totally different settings. There are numerous variations between the Purple vehicles 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 through the years. Not solely do the Maranello vehicles have a distinct braking system from Mercedes, however in addition 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 staff totally 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 stability, from engine vibrations to energy unit supply. Nonetheless, there’s 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 have been additionally very totally different. He defined that Ferrari used Brembo, whereas for the previous 15 years he had used Carbone Industrie. The remark isn’t meant as a criticism of the Italian firm, whose merchandise are extremely regarded on the grid and chosen by most groups. It’s not 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 be current on the rear, the place the state of affairs is extra complicated. A Formulation 1 automobile makes use of three totally 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-Ok, the electrical generator that recharges the battery throughout braking, producing braking power within the course of. The final is engine braking, attributable to inside friction within the inside combustion engine which slows down its rotation when the throttle is launched and gas injection stops.
The system that coordinates these three contributions is BBW, which is brief for Brake By Wire. When the driving force presses the brake, an digital sensor registers the pedal enter. At that time, the management unit fulfills the request: an actuator generates stress within the rear hydraulic circuit, compensating its power with that of the engine braking and regenerative braking, to be able to exactly match the driving force’s enter.
Balancing the braking forces throughout the 4 wheels is essential to assist rotate the automobile right into a nook. One of the best-known adjustment is brake bias, which defines the stability 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 power, gaining extra lateral grip to steer. In flip, how the braking power is break up on the rear among the many hydraulic system, MGU-Ok, and engine braking additional influences the automobile’s conduct.
So let’s check out the significance of engine braking. Not like the hydraulic system that acts on the carbon discs, the MGU-Ok and engine braking instantly sluggish the driveshaft. The differential then distributes the braking torque between the interior and outer rear wheels, albeit barely asymmetrically. This small asymmetry, if properly utilized, can assist the automobile rotate towards the apex. Think about a ship the place the rowers on the appropriate aspect 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 totally different intensities.
Subsequently, the extra power exerted by the MGU-Ok 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 interior combustion engine. The latter, actually, is unbiased of brake pedal enter and disappears solely when the driving force will get again on the throttle. It might subsequently be a further software within the moments simply earlier than the apex, braking the rear wheels to assist the automobile rotate.
Engine braking isn’t unique to Ferrari, however is current on all vehicles, with the Maranello staff evidently utilizing it extra aggressively than Mercedes. Simply two years in the past, there was speak of Purple Bull’s “handbrake,” a mysterious setting steered through radio to Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, which has by no means been totally defined and maybe remains to be in use. The speculation was that it concerned a selected mixture of brake migration, MGU-Ok, and engine braking parameters to decisively sluggish the rear wheels—an method resembling, in a milder kind, the approach rally drivers use after they pull the handbrake lever to sort out 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, nevertheless, requires correct driving approach. For instance, how rapidly a driver downshifts determines the engine revs throughout braking, which have an effect on inside friction and the braking contribution. Moreover, engine braking destabilizes the automobile’s rear axis to assist rotate it, probably depriving the driving force of the arrogance wanted to dive into the nook—particularly if not used to it. It’s 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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