F1MATHS: Why Monza’s First Chicane Remains One of Formula 1’s Most Brutal Braking Zones?
The Variante del Rettifilo, better known as Monza’s first chicane, continues to stand out as one of the most demanding braking zones in Formula 1. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo explains why this very corner still stands out in Formula One.
The combination of extreme top‑end speed, violent deceleration, and a narrow racing line creates a scenario that pushes both the car and the driver to their physical and mechanical limits.
According to data from Brembo, the braking phase begins at approximately 337 km/h, making it one of the highest‑speed approaches on the calendar. Drivers must slow the car to 89 km/h in a matter of seconds, a process that subjects them to around 5g of deceleration. This force compresses the driver into the seat and places enormous stress on the braking system, which must convert vast amounts of kinetic energy into heat almost instantaneously.
When the driver applies maximum pressure to the brake pedal, the calipers clamp onto the carbon discs with immense force. The friction generated during this process produces extreme temperatures, and the heat is rapidly transmitted through the brake assembly and into the tyres. The front axle absorbs the majority of this load because the sudden deceleration shifts the car’s weight forward, increasing the vertical force on the front tyres.
The tyre’s contact patch, the small area where rubber meets the asphalt, becomes even smaller under the camber angle used to enhance cornering performance. Under heavy braking, this reduced contact area undergoes significant compression, which can temporarily flatten the tyre’s profile.
This deformation increases wear and makes the tyre more vulnerable to locking up, especially when the driver is still modulating brake pressure while turning into the chicane.
Lock-up and understeerA lock‑up occurs when a tyre stops rotating and skids across the track surface. This scraping motion grinds a section of the tread into a flat spot, leaving the tyre no longer perfectly round.
Once a flat spot forms, the tyre vibrates at high speed and loses grip, which compromises the car’s balance and stability. The driver may turn the steering wheel into the corner, but the car continues to travel straight ahead, a classic case of understeer.
Understeer becomes significantly more pronounced when a wheel is locked because the sliding tyre can no longer generate the lateral forces required to rotate the car effectively. Instead of gripping the asphalt, the tyre glides across it, leaving the driver with limited control and forcing a wider line through the corner.
