Nothing is boring in Formula One and over the weekend the teams drivers let slip what is happening behind the scenes. One has to understand the implications because what is going on is unprecedented as teams have similar car set ups for both drivers and never different parts from other manufacturers.
The public relations fall out is with regard to Brembo Braking systems that has been supplying all the braking needs for the Formula One team and the high end Ferrari road cars since 1975. That is a 50 partnership that Ferrari and Brembo have enjoyed until now.
Last season both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc complained that the F1 car was difficult to control as the brakes were inconsistent. The carbon brake discs handled so differently during the season depending on the type of race track. The over heating of the discs themselves was problematic forcing the team to opt for a lift and coast call to try and overcome these issues. This would help cool the brakes but was not the fastest way to drive the car.
The other problem was the unpredictable handling with the brakes sometimes biting hard or even failing to work and was more of a guessing game with no consistency. The drivers after every race last season kept on mentioning the brakes as being an issue that they were all trying to overcome. At the Singapore race Hamilton had no brakes during the final few laps and at Monaco in 2025 Leclerc had a front and rear end imbalance with his entire braking system.
After yesterdays race in Monaco Hamilton who finished 2nd revealed that the car is performing much better whilst Leclerc crashed out blaming his brakes. Leclerc then mentioned he will be trying the new set up Hamilton has this week for the Barcelona race.
It turns out since pre season testing at Barcelona earlier in the year Hamilton has been trying to change his Brembo brake discs to another supplier which he had whilst driving at Mercedes. The Ferrari hierarchy would have been against this because what does that say about all their Ferrari cars and the relationship they have with Brembo?
Hamilton was granted his wish and has been using Carbon Industries brake discs since the Japanese Grand Prix where he finished 6th and Leclerc 3rd. In Miami Hamilton finished 6th and Leclerc 8th, Canadian Hamilton 2nd and Leclerc 4th and yesterday in Monaco Hamilton 2nd and Leclerc crashed out.
The deal Ferrari have with Hamilton is that Brembo is the braking system and they will allow Carbon Industries brake discs to be used. The results after switching have proven that this was the right call to make which has now convinced Leclerc to switch for the next race. Obviously this has ruffled a few feathers with Brembo who would not be happy with another supplier fixing the brake problems.
The good thing is that at least Ferrari listened to Hamilton's fix because the team was suffering because of the braking issues. If something is not working you find a solution and what Ferrari have been doing is not normal running two different manufacturers for the same part on two team cars. This has solved their problem which has been ongoing for a good 18 months and maybe much longer, possibly many seasons.
The partnership of 50 years with Brembo may now be under pressure as a supplier because surely this should have been rectified immediately. Brembo benefitted business wise through supplying the Ferrari Formula One team through the data that was provided. Any other manufacturer faced with heating issues would have found a solution so they only have themselves to blame. At no point did they ever imagine that this relationship they have had would be put to the test.
Brembo have even used the term that they are the "Ferrari of braking systems" so this could change things drastically for the company. The saving grace is Brembo is an Italian company so Ferrari will stick by their side until they have no other option. My guess is Brembo is now going to be working on their brake discs which they should have been doing years ago.
