(Motorsport-Total.com) – Charles Leclerc has cited a serious brake problem as the cause of his accident after his retirement from the Monaco Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver crashed shortly before the restart after a safety car phase, while in third place, at the Antony Noghes corner. Lance Stroll had already retired there a few minutes earlier.
Read more Vote now: Who were the best drivers in Monte Carlo?
Immediately after the impact, Leclerc made it clear on the radio that he did not see himself responsible. He later explained that a technical defect had practically deprived him of any possibility of properly decelerating the car.
“I will certainly not take the blame for this,” Leclerc had already stated on the radio during the race. After the Grand Prix, he described the extent of the problem more precisely: “Of four brakes, three did not work. And in a Formula 1 car, that’s never a good thing.”
Braking system almost completely failed
According to Leclerc, only the front left brake was working normally. The front right brake only worked to a limited extent, while both rear brakes had completely failed.
“The front left brake worked well, the front right brake only partially, and both rear brakes didn’t work at all,” reports the Monegasque. “And when I say didn’t work at all, I mean that no deceleration was visible in the data. It was as if the brake calipers weren’t even on the car.”
The Ferrari driver described the situation as a “nightmare,” but also explained that the team had already identified a solution. “The only thing I can say is that we already have the solution in-house. From the next race, I will switch to Lewis’s configuration, which will hopefully be a step forward,” said Leclerc.
Problem occurred after first safety car phase
According to the Ferrari driver, the problem occurred immediately after the safety car phase and subsequently worsened progressively. He tried various settings while driving to improve the situation, but without success.
Read more Verstappen explains Monaco retirement: «The engine just went out»
The only theoretical option left for him was not to brake at all in the last corner. However, this would have inevitably led to an accident in the first corner. “I tried many things in the car to fix the problem. There was simply no solution,” Leclerc continued.
Material fatigue as reason for failure?
Ferrari is still investigating the exact cause of the problem. However, the Monegasque suspects that the defect could possibly be related to brake wear, which traditionally poses a challenge on Monaco’s narrow street circuit.
“I don’t know if it was a wear problem. It’s often an issue here. I don’t know exactly what it was, but there was clearly a problem,” he says. When asked if he had ever experienced a similar situation, Leclerc replies: “No, not to this extent. Of course, it’s sometimes a bit difficult, but this time it was simply not possible to drive through a corner.”
Ferrari sees cause confirmed by data
According to the Ferrari driver, team principal Fred Vasseur and Ferrari’s deputy team principal Jerome d’Ambrosio have already evaluated the data and come to the same conclusion.
Despite the disappointing race, the Ferrari driver sees at least one positive aspect: looking ahead to the upcoming race weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona, he hopes that the planned change to the brake configuration will prevent similar problems in the future.
Leclerc is currently in fourth place in the drivers’ standings with 70 points, while teammate Lewis Hamilton has moved up to second overall with 90 points after his second place in Monaco.
Read more Curious finale in Monaco: Kimi Antonelli wins after race abandonment!