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Charles Leclerc has called on Ferrari to urgently investigate the braking system on his SF-26 after a devastating DNF at the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix — his home race — left him as a frustrated spectator in the closing stages of a contest he had every reason to target.
The Monegasque was running as high as second during the race and had slotted into third behind Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton coming out of La Rascasse on lap 67 of 78 when, without warning, his SF-26 veered straight into the barriers. The incident was a near carbon copy of Lance Stroll's earlier crash at the same corner — the very accident that had triggered the Safety Car.
Leclerc was unequivocal in his assessment. He refused to accept personal blame and pointed the finger squarely at a technical failure of alarming proportions.
"Well, out of the four brakes, I had three brakes not working," he told media. "So in an F1 car, it's never a good thing. The front left was working well, the front right was half working, and the two rear brakes were not working at all. And when I say at all, it's that on data, there's no deceleration at all. It's like the callipers were not even in the car. So it's a little bit of an issue."
The root cause, Leclerc explained, was the Safety Car period itself. From the moment he rejoined behind the Safety Car, three of his four brakes ceased functioning — and there was nothing he could do to recover them.
The braking troubles were not entirely new. Leclerc had already cited ongoing braking problems during Monaco qualifying, and he later revealed the issues had first surfaced as far back as the Miami GP weekend. But it was Monaco, on the most unforgiving circuit on the calendar, that delivered the final blow.
"The problem was the safety car," Leclerc said. "As soon as I did the safety car, three of my four brakes stopped working. I could never switch them on again. Nothing was working anymore. I tried to do many actions in the car to try and help it. The only solution I had was to not brake in the last corner. But I would have crashed in turn one. There was just no solution."
Suggestions arose that track debris — apparently eroded during the course of the race at La Rascasse — may have contributed to both Leclerc and Stroll's incidents. The Monegasque dismissed the theory entirely, insisting the data left no room for ambiguity.
"No, it's very clear. I think Fred and Jerome then saw the data. And I think it's very clear for everyone. I don't think there's any doubt," he said. "I don't think this should be the story of the day. I think we just need to find a solution for our brakes. Today I was a passenger."
Leclerc was careful not to go into the specific technical details of the failure, but confirmed that Ferrari has already identified a direction to address the problem. For the next race, he will adopt Lewis Hamilton's brake configuration, with the hope that the change brings an end to his recent misery.
"We have a solution. I'll go to Lewis' configuration from next race onwards, which hopefully will be a step. But yeah, it's been a nightmare," he added.
F1 heads to Barcelona and the Circuit de Catalunya next weekend — a venue where Leclerc will be desperate to finally put his braking demons to rest.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.
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