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 automotive which required a special driving type and completely different settings. There are various 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 Components 1 success through the years. Not solely do the Maranello vehicles have a special 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 Components 1 world champion is experiencing all of the challenges of driving for a workforce 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 stability, from engine vibrations to energy unit supply. Nevertheless, there may be one essential facet limiting one among his biggest strengths: braking.
Lewis Hamilton informed 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 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’s not a matter of higher or worse high quality, however merely behavior with a system used for a few years that behaved in another 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 Components 1 automotive 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 scenario is extra complicated. A Components 1 automotive makes use of three completely different braking contributions on the rear wheels, one among 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 pressure within the course of. The final is engine braking, brought on by inside friction within the inside 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 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 pressure with that of the engine braking and regenerative braking, with a purpose to exactly match the driving force’s enter.
Balancing the braking forces throughout the 4 wheels is essential to assist rotate the automotive right into a nook. The perfect-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 fashion, the entrance tires apply much less longitudinal pressure, gaining extra lateral grip to steer. In flip, how the braking pressure is cut up on the rear among the many hydraulic system, MGU-Ok, and engine braking additional influences the automotive’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 straight gradual the driveshaft. The differential then distributes the braking torque between the inside and outer rear wheels, albeit barely asymmetrically. This small asymmetry, if nicely utilized, will help the automotive rotate towards the apex. Think about a ship the place the rowers on the proper facet paddle in the wrong 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 analogous in a Components 1 automotive, with the distinction that the rear wheels don’t brake in reverse instructions, however merely with barely completely different intensities.
Subsequently, the extra pressure exerted by the MGU-Ok and engine braking, the better 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, in truth, is unbiased of brake pedal enter and disappears solely when the driving force will get again on the throttle. It might due to this fact be an extra instrument within the moments simply earlier than the apex, braking the rear wheels to assist the automotive rotate.
Engine braking will not be unique to Ferrari, however is current on all vehicles, with the Maranello workforce evidently utilizing it extra aggressively than Mercedes. Simply two years in the past, there was discuss of Purple Bull’s “handbrake,” a mysterious setting urged by way of radio to Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, which has by no means been totally defined and maybe remains to be in use. The idea was that it concerned a selected mixture of brake migration, MGU-Ok, and engine braking parameters to decisively gradual the rear wheels—an strategy resembling, in a milder kind, the approach rally drivers use after they pull the handbrake lever to deal with a hairpin.
Engine braking stays a central instrument in trendy Components 1, with devoted knobs on the steering wheel to regulate its depth. To profit from it, nevertheless, requires correct driving approach. For instance, how shortly 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 automotive’s rear axis to assist rotate it, doubtlessly depriving the driving force of the boldness 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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