Breaking Down the Difference: Brembo vs. Carbon Industrie — And What That Means for Hamilton at Ferrari
When we think of Formula 1 performance, we often think engines, aerodynamics, tyres... But ask any driver or engineer, and they’ll tell you brakes are just as crucial.
In F1, there are two big players when it comes to brake components: Brembo and Carbon Industrie (CI). And while both deliver elite-level performance, they feel very different behind the wheel — just ask Lewis Hamilton.
Now in his debut season with Ferrari in 2025, Hamilton has made the switch from CI brakes at Mercedes to Brembo brakes at Ferrari. And, I think, for the first time, Hamilton gave us some insights on how his driving style has made it harder for him to adapt to the SF-25, after the Bahrain Grand Prix.
“What’s clear is, as humans, we get really stuck in our ways and I think I’ve been driving in the same style and certain way with the same team for such a long time.”
“It requires such different driving style and settings. I’ve been using engine braking which I’ve never ever used in my previous years. Much different brakes if you’re on Brembos and I’ve been on [carbon industries] for the last 15 years or so.”
- Lewis Hamilton, post Bahrain GP 2025
The technicalities of braking systems and the way they affect drivers aren’t spoken about enough. I’m here to change that.
Brembo vs. Carbon Industrie: What’s the Difference?
At the core, all F1 brakes use carbon-carbon discs and pads since steel simply can’t survive the heat the cars omit. But the way Brembo and CI engineer their systems leads to significant differences on how they operate:
Brake Bite: Brembo brakes tend to have a stronger initial bite; they grab hard, fast. Great for confidence under heavy braking, but some drivers find it a bit too aggressive, especially when the car is light on fuel or grip is low.
Modulation: CI brakes are known for being smoother and more progressive, especially as drivers ease off the pedal into a corner. This helps with trail braking and fine control, something you’ll Hamilton has always been good at.
Cooling & Heat Resistance: CI brakes can handle higher temperatures without glazing, making them popular with drivers who brake late and hard. Brembos heat up quicker, which can be helpful in shorter stints or cooler conditions.
Feel: Ultimately, this one’s subjective, as are most F1 set-ups, but drivers often find CIs offering more consistent pedal feel across long stints, while Brembo can fluctuate more with wear or temp swings. CIs end up being more forgiving over a lap in comparison to Brembos.
Lewis Hamilton’s Braking Style
Lewis Hamilton has made a popular career out of insane late braking. He’s always been one of the latest and most precise brakers on the grid, especially through tight chicanes or hairpins. At Mercedes, with CI brakes, he could lean on that style heavily: hit the pedal late, trail into the corner, and rotate the car with precision.
Now at Ferrari in 2025, things are a bit different. Ferrari uses Brembo brakes, and while they’re still top-tier, they deliver that initial bite much more suddenly. For someone like Lewis Hamilton, this means adjusting his pedal pressure curve, his brake bias setup, and even how he approaches tyre warm-up. Earlier in the weekend we heard his engineer, Adami, telling Lewis that he could find time by braking 10 metres earlier, similar to his teammate Charles Leclerc.
Brembos just demand a different rhythm, and for a driver as intuitive as Hamilton, adapting to a new feel after a decade with one style is no small task.
Telemetry and Brake Trace
Here’s some visual insight into the changes Lewis Hamilton is having to make to his driving style.
This is a brake pressure trace comparison from Lewis Hamilton’s Bahrain quali laps in the 2024 Mercedes (cyan) and the 2025 Ferrari (red). Both P9.
If you follow the lines, you’ll notice that in most major braking zones, both traces show sharp vertical rises to full brake pressure (1.0) but the Ferrari consistently shows slightly earlier braking, it reaches full pressure before the Mercedes in a few zones.
Hamilton braking sooner in the Ferrari is due to Brembo’s sharper initial bite, which doesn’t let him delay braking as confidently as the Carbon Industrie (CI) brakes in the Merc.
Modulation and Release
The Mercedes trace shows softer, more tapered releases. To me, an avid fan of data, it implies that Hamilton is trail braking (gradually easing off the brakes into the corner). But in the Ferrari, many of the red traces show a steeper drop, meaning the brakes are being released more suddenly. This could also be a result of a) lack of confidence in the car and/or b) lack of experience on sharper brakes.
In sum, CI allows more modulation and finesse. Brake finesse is probably something we all have known Hamilton for. The Brembo offers more initial stopping power, but it’s less forgiving on trail braking.
Here’s a full lap telemetry chart (without isolating the brake trace):
I’m aware that these are completely different cars, that carry completely different set-ups and perhaps different issues as well, but for the purposes of this article, I kept those nuances to a minimum.
Speed Trace (Top Panel)
Both traces follow a similar rhythm across the lap, but illustration shows the Mercedes carrying slightly more speed into some corners, particularly where a driver would trail brake (T1, T4, T10). It suggests CI brakes allowed him to brake later and keep more momentum into apexes.
Brake Trace (in context over the lap)
The brake trace consistently shows earlier and slightly more aggressive application in the Ferrari. In some braking zones, he releases earlier in the Merc, which to me, means he was able to coast a bit more or carry braking deeper. Again, a CI modulation advantage that bodes well for his driving style.
*
To not make this article longer than it needs to be – I’m here to make your F1 life easier, not harder – I kept it to the Bahrain Qualifying laps, but I’m sure there is a lot more evidence of these differences in braking styles!
2025 Hamilton is having to brake a touch earlier, he’s possibly dealing with a snappier brake bite; a feel he has no muscle memory of or for. It’s common that your confidence is shaken when you can’t use the one skill your whole career was built on.
For Hamilton, adjusting to Brembos might take time, but if anyone can recalibrate his style mid-career, it’s him. He’s already shown flashes of brilliance this season, with a Sprint pole and win in China, and as he gets more comfortable with the Brembo bite, I’m sure we’ll see him shine a lot more!