Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc endured a disappointing home race after not finishing the Monaco Grand Prix.
Leclerc arrived at the iconic street circuit carrying the hopes of local fans and showing encouraging pace. Despite battling persistent braking issues, he remained competitive and secured fourth position in qualifying.
Although P4 was not the result he had hoped for, Leclerc believed there was still an opportunity to fight for a strong finish on race day. The Monaco native had demonstrated impressive speed during practice sessions and remained optimistic that Ferrari could challenge near the front of the field.
Following qualifying, Leclerc admitted he struggled to find consistency under braking and was frustrated that the issues prevented him from extracting the full potential of the car.
Disaster for Leclerc on race day
On the race day, Leclerc moved up a few positions and spent much of the Grand Prix running inside the podium places, appearing on course for a strong result in front of his home supporters.
However, the situation unravelled late in the race following a restart.
As pressure mounted in the closing stages, Leclerc lost control and crashed into the barriers, bringing a painful end to what had been a hard-fought afternoon.
After retiring from the race, Leclerc did not hide his emotions.
Speaking to reporters, as cited by F1 news site, he described himself as “extremely disappointed, sad, angry – a mixture of negative emotions”.
“I don’t know how much I can go into the details, but I don’t think… I mean, it’s just not acceptable. The issues I have faced with my brakes have been… it’s not that it’s difficult, it’s that in this particular moment it’s just impossible,” the driver said.
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Leclerc points to brakes as the problem
Aside from this, Leclerc revealed that the issue had reached a point where he felt it was nearly impossible to drive normally, particularly during critical braking zones.
According to him, the rear brakes were not functioning as expected, forcing him to adapt his driving style while fighting for position.
“I cannot do anything. The only thing I can do is not brake for the last corner, but in an F1 corner not braking in the last corner ends up in the wall anyway,” he said.
“I put the least amount of brakes I could possibly do, and it’s not even braking, it’s leaning my foot on the brake.
“The rear brakes were not working at all, so I don’t know if there was an issue there, or if it’s the inconsistency I get, and the front delivered a lot more than what it should, so that’s what happened.”
The result was truly painful given the significance of Monaco to Leclerc.
Meanwhile, Ferrari later indicated that a potential solution to the brake-related concerns had been identified, providing some optimism ahead of the next race weekend.
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