Hamilton prefers the combination of stopping power and pedal feel of the Carbone Industrie discs over those of the more common Brembos. The Brembos are said to give more feedback through the pedal, allowing easier modulation. But Lewis found at McLaren that with the right size and design of brake master cylinder, he could get the modulation he needs together with the higher braking power of the Carbone Industrie discs. He has been struggling to get that same combination at Mercedes. Since the start of the season the team has been trying to give him that elusive combination with redesigns of the brake cylinders, but to date it has not worked for him. Rosberg has remained on the standard Brembo caliper/Brembo disc combination and is quite happy with it.
Normally, higher braking power would generate more heat - and that has been the pattern in the Hamilton/Rosberg comparison at most tracks. That heat tends to transfer itself through the wheel rims to the tyres and at tracks where thermal degradation of the front tyre is the generic limitation, this would give Hamilton higher tyre deg than Rosberg.
