[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/latest-news\/mclarens-extra-brake-pedal-that-disrupted-f1\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/latest-news\/mclarens-extra-brake-pedal-that-disrupted-f1\/","headline":"McLaren\u2019s extra brake pedal that disrupted Formula 1","name":"McLaren\u2019s extra brake pedal that disrupted Formula 1","description":"McLaren\u2019s ingenious little secret that won them several F1 Grand Prix McLaren are known to be innovators. Just look at their production cars and you\u2019ll soon find several interesting technologies and examples of \u2018outside-the-box thinking\u2019 that separate them from their competitors. For instance, the 600 LT features top mount exhausts which are only found in a handful of other cars. They weigh less, are cooled more effectively and also minimise aero disturbance. The McLaren F1 from the 90s was the […]","datePublished":"2019-06-17","dateModified":"2019-06-18","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/author\/isabelle-lawrence\/#Person","name":"Isabelle Lawrence","url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/author\/isabelle-lawrence\/","identifier":30,"description":"Max Wheeler is a leading motoring journalist and classic car specialist at Smart Motoring, renowned for his sharp insight and infectious passion for all things automotive. With years of experience covering motoring news, supercars, and the enduring legacy of classic cars, Max brings stories to life with style and authority. Whether it\u2019s the roar of a Lamborghini, the elegance of an Aston Martin DB5, or the cultural impact of vintage motoring icons, he delivers expert commentary that inspires enthusiasts and collectors alike. Dedicated to celebrating the heritage and future of driving, Max Wheeler is your trusted voice for classic car news and beyond.","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d331506e3c530b5ec4930c30a01ed8cc29b0537227573ae5da98f559e681401?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d331506e3c530b5ec4930c30a01ed8cc29b0537227573ae5da98f559e681401?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Smart Motoring","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/smart-motoring_news_logo_g-e1765846726493.webp","url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/smart-motoring_news_logo_g-e1765846726493.webp","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Mika-Hakkinen-2008-McLaren-MP4-13-feature.jpg","url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Mika-Hakkinen-2008-McLaren-MP4-13-feature.jpg","height":520,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/latest-news\/mclarens-extra-brake-pedal-that-disrupted-f1\/","about":["BLOG","LATEST CAR NEWS","McLaren","Mercedes-Benz","MOTORSPORT"],"wordCount":996,"keywords":["formula 1","McLaren","mercedes","Mika Hakkinen"],"articleBody":"McLaren\u2019s ingenious little secret that won them several F1 Grand PrixMcLaren are known to be innovators. Just lookat their production cars and you\u2019ll soon find several interesting technologiesand examples of \u2018outside-the-box thinking\u2019 that separate them from theircompetitors. For instance, the 600 LT features top mount exhausts which are only found in a handful of other cars. They weigh less, are cooled more effectively and also minimise aero disturbance. The McLaren F1 from the 90s was the firstall-carbon-fibre supercar and weighed just 1,138 kg which is still lighter thanmost of today\u2019s supercars. It was also the fastest car in the world for awhopping 11 years and is still the fastest naturally aspirated car in the worldtoday, over 25 years after its release. These are just some examples of McLaren\u2019sindustry-leading genius that not only let them create interesting and veryattractive supercars, but have also allowed them to become the second mostsuccessful Formula 1 team in history, second to Ferrari, of course. Theridiculously simple extra brake pedal allowed drivers Hakkinen and Coulthard togain almost half a second per lap, which in Formula One terms, is a huge leap. From a bathtime realisation to a race-winning technologyIn 1998, McLaren\u2019s sneaky extra brake pedalwas banned in F1 racing, mainly because it was an innovation that was tooadvanced for the competition to handle. It all started as a Eureka moment thatcame to McLaren\u2019s chief engineer, Steve Nichols, while he was laying in the bathat his parents\u2019 house, just as Archimedes was when he coined the term \u2018Eureka\u2019!Nichols was thinking about how the cars wereset up to have a lot of understeer with thick front tyres and thin rear tyres.To counteract the understeer, Nichols thought about the possibility of usingthe rear brakes during corners. Nichols recalls how he talked to Paddy Lowe, head of R&D at the time, about the possibility of an extra brake pedal to operate a rear brake on one side of the car.\u201cI told him I wanted to try this thing wherewe have an extra pedal in the car, and we put the right-rear or left-rear brakeon to balance the car.\u201d\u201cAll we had to do was put an extra mastercylinder on the car, and a length of Aeroquip [brake hose] that went to theright rear calliper, so that when you pushed the normal pedal it would put bothrear callipers on, and when you pressed the fiddle-brake it only activated theright rear.\u201dThe modification was very basic, especiallyfor Formula One, and Nichols said the innovation cost just \u201cfifty quid\u2019s worthof parts that we already had in the truck!\u201d. McLaren\u2019s steer-brake \/ fiddle-brake explainedIn the footwell of Hakkinen\u2019s F1 car was threepedals; the \u2018steer-brake\u2019, the normal brake pedal and the throttle. Thesteer-brake pedal was quite stiff and the driver would have to press quite hardon it to use it. This way, Hakkinen and Coulthard wouldn\u2019t have to worry abouttapping it and spinning out. The steer-brake pedal operated one rear brakeon one side of the car. The side of the car that it operated changed dependingon the race and was decided on a track basis. The main deciding factor was longhigh-speed corners in which drivers would normally experience a high amount ofundersteer. So if McLaren were set to race on a circuit with a few trickyrighthand turns, the engineers would set up the cars to have the brake-steerpedal to operate the rear right brake. \u201cAs you applied the brake mid-corner it wouldbrake one of the rear wheels, and as you didn\u2019t want to slow the car down,you\u2019d open the throttle to compensate.\u201d\u201cSo it was a combination of pressing on twopedals at the same time. In doing that you\u2019re putting more torque through theoutside rear wheel and less through the inside, and that puts a yaw moment onthe car to steer the car around the corner.\u201dNot only did the innovation help correctundersteer, but it also improved cornering aerodynamics as the front wheelswould be straighter and drivers didn\u2019t have to carry as much front wing oncorner entry, making the car more stable. It didn\u2019t take long for an eagle-eyed photographer to noticeMcLaren began using their brake-steer trick inthe second half of 1997 and were quickly found out in early 1998. During theAustrian GP of 1998, a photographer for F1 Racing magazine, Darren Heath,noticed that he could see both McLaren drivers\u2019 rear brakes glowing mid-corner.This was very unusual to see, let alone on both cars of the same F1 team. Thanks to some great instinct and intuition, Heath had a hunch that McLaren were using some sort of extra brake, a theory that eventually proved to be bang on the money. Heath was able to luckily, with just the right exposure settings, capture a shot of the footwell of Hakkinen\u2019s car, revealing three foot pedals rather than two.\u00a0 As events progressed, the secret was revealedto the world, competitors tried to replicate and understand the technology andin the end, it was banned on the basis of four-wheel steering. \u201cobviously it was not realigning the wheels,\u201dTim Goss, chief test team engineer at the time, commented. \u201cWe called itbrake-steer, which was unfortunate when we tried to argue that it wasn\u2019tanything to do with steering! It was a bad choice of name from ourselves.\u201dBy then, it was too late to change the name to\u2018fiddle-brake\u2019, a term invented by Ross Brawn, Ferraris technical director atthe time. The ingenious, race-winning \u2018fifty quid\u2019 invention was alreadybanned. Although the infinitely clever steer-brake wasbanned in the end, it managed to serve a great purpose for a good few monthsand helped McLaren to win several grand prix. "},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Latest News","item":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/latest-news\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"McLaren\u2019s extra brake pedal that disrupted Formula 1","item":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/latest-news\/mclarens-extra-brake-pedal-that-disrupted-f1\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]