Brake pull issue: explaining Charles Leclerc's SF-24 problem in 2024 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix

After analyzing telemetry and onboard data, we might have understood the cause of Charles Leclerc’s poor performance. Let’s see what “pulling” is, the brake problem that affected the Monegasque’s race in Bahrain.

From the early stages of the Bahrain Grand Prix, it was evident that Charles Leclerc’s car was not in optimal condition, with him struggling significantly behind the wheel. However, thanks to his driving skills, he managed to mitigate the encountered problem to some extent. After all, in the three days of testing and in the free practices leading up to the race, his braking abilities have always been top-notch, and it’s unlikely that he forgot how to approach braking in a single day. What might have influenced his performance is known as “pulling,” a brake-related issue that marred Charles Leclerc’s Bahrain race.

Shortly before the start of the race, a note from the race direction arrived regarding some interventions made on car #16. Indeed, a cooling duct of the Brembo system at the front was replaced on his car. Probably, the technicians detected some anomalies in the component and intervened to prevent further problems.

The most striking episode that raised alarm bells in the Ferrari garage was the abnormal locking in turn 10. This was because it occurred continuously, with Charles Leclerc consistently overshooting the apex. From the onboard footage and telemetry, the possible brake problem suffered by the Ferrari driver emerged. The most plausible hypothesis, and perhaps the only one, is that of pulling, which involved the two front brakes. This rather bothersome phenomenon for drivers is caused by a misalignment of temperatures in the braking system of an axle, in this case, the front one. As his race engineer mentioned in the team radio conversation, later interrupted, with Charles Leclerc, there was a significant temperature difference between the two braking systems, estimated at around 100°C between the right (anomalous) and left.

This caused the brake disc and pad material to work unevenly, resulting in different braking power. The simplest example is that one brake more than the other. The temperature difference triggered the “pulling,” pushing Charles Leclerc’s car to the right during deceleration. An extremely annoying phenomenon for a driver because it erodes confidence during braking, leading to almost constant understeer. The cause of the brake problem remains unknown, and Ferrari may initiate an investigation together with the Italian manufacturer of the braking system.

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With Carlos Sainz on the podium and Charles Leclerc just below, Ferrari approaches the Jeddah weekend with mixed feelings. While the Prancing Horse can boast a third and fourth place on a track not entirely suited to it, on the other hand, the brake problems affecting both drivers raise some concerns.

What is worrying is the absolute lack of warning signs from the brake problem. The issue is unprecedented, and now Ferrari and Brembo will investigate and work to mitigate the problem and prevent its recurrence.

Ferrari, why didn’t the brake issue emerge during testing?

The problem, as mentioned, was unprecedented, and a valid question arises. Why didn’t it emerge during the testing week before the race? Carlos Sainz had an explanation, pointing out that it’s something a team can’t discover in testing. In testing, you never spend ten consecutive laps behind four cars receiving all the hot air from the four cars in front, always preventing the brakes from cooling down.

Brake overheating strong vibrations therefore compromised a pace that Ferrari expected to be better. Now, the next challenge is Jeddah, to determine whether the brake issue was just an isolated incident on one of the most demanding circuits for brakes. Sakhir boasts a difficulty index of 4 on a scale of 1 to 5 for Brembo. It is a circuit with 4 hard-category brake points and 3 medium-category ones. Additionally, it requires 18% of the lap to be covered with the foot on the brake.