Revealed: Why Cadillac's F1 brakes keep catching fire
Cadillac has suffered with a string of brake fires across the first half of the season, and Valtteri Bottas explains the cause.
Valtteri Bottas has revealed the cause of Cadillac's continued brake fires, after the problem again reared its head at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Cadillac has struggled with brake problems all season, with the Hungarian Grand Prix seeing the latest instance of a fire breaking out despite introducing a number of fixes aimed at preventing repeat situations.
F1 brakes are air-cooled, with the brake ducts swallowing as much air as possible, without compromising the car's aerodynamic balance. This air is then flung through over a thousand holes in the brake discs, to rapidly cool the crucial components that can reach up to 1,200°C.
Having suffered brake fires intermittently, including in Austria where both cars retired with the problem in the early laps, Cadillac brought new front brake ducts to Hungary, but this failed to solve the issue, with Bottas suffering a fire in the race and being forced to bump his car along a wall in order to bring it to a halt.
"That new front ducting was trying to address this issue and trying to prevent it from happening, but clearly we still need more airflow in the brakes," he said.
"That's clear from today. But again, it was quite extreme conditions [and an] extreme track."
Asked to explain the cause of the problems, Bottas added: "So, the brakes, they just get too hot, and it gets to the point that inside everything starts to burn.
"And that obviously destroys everything. Actually, on the in lap, I lost the brakes fully because I think the brake lines must have burned. So, that's why I had to stop the car against the wall."
With F1 now entering a period where teams must shut down for 14 consecutive days prior to the Dutch Grand Prix, Bottas conceded he does not expect many new parts when action resumes.
"I don't think we'll have anything for Zandvoort," he said. "Well, hopefully something for the brakes, but nothing performance-related
"But at some point, there's going to be a point that we're going to focus 100% for next year."
Sam joined Crash.net in February 2026 with extensive experience in motorsport media, having covered numerous championships around the world.
