Leclerc to copy Hamilton’s braking setup after ‘nightmare’ Monaco GP crash

Charles Leclerc blasted a ‘borderline dangerous’ brake failure after crashing out of the Monaco Grand Prix at Turn 19. Refusing to take the blame for the podium-shattering accident, the furious Monégasque confirmed he will completely abandon his current setup to copy teammate Lewis Hamilton’s configuration ahead of the next race in Barcelona.

Leclerc refuses blame for Monte Carlo disaster

Leclerc has built a reputation in the paddock for his brutal, unfiltered honesty when making mistakes. However, speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the retirement, he made it absolutely clear that the blame for the Turn 19 shunt lies entirely away from his cockpit.

“Brakes. Data speaks for itself. It’s extremely frustrating,” Leclerc responded bluntly.

“I’ve always been very honest, and no matter how many mistakes I do, I would hate to look at myself in the mirror and see myself finding excuses. That’s why I’m always bluntly honest whenever I’m in front of cameras, but I’m not going to take any of it today.”

Leclerc went on to describe a terrifying mechanical imbalance that left him completely powerless on the streets of the principality.

“It’s not even braking. I touch the brakes and there’s just something with those brakes… on the front brakes, it just braked a lot more than what I thought, and in the rear brakes, it had no deceleration at all. It was like I had no rear brakes at all.”

A persistent nightmare since Montreal

This is not an isolated incident for Scuderia Ferrari. The brake inconsistencies have plagued Leclerc’s side of the garage since the Canadian Grand Prix, turning into an uncontrollable variable when trying to manage critical tire temperatures.

“That’s what I’m dealing with since two races now,” Leclerc continued.

“Here and in Montreal with cold tyre temperatures, the inconsistency has just been an absolute nightmare. And I’m weighing my words. I don’t have many words today.

“I look like an idiot. And when you look like an idiot for a mistake of yours, it’s fine, but it’s borderline dangerous.”

Copying Hamilton’s configuration for Barcelona

Desperate for consistency ahead of the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix, Leclerc confirmed he will completely abandon his current braking philosophy. Instead, he will adopt the specific material configuration and brake-duct setup utilized by his teammate, Lewis Hamilton.

According to a technical analysis published by AutoRacer IT, Hamilton’s side of the garage has been utilizing a completely different technical specification, switching to brake discs from Carbon Industries, the supplier he used throughout much of his Mercedes career, while Leclerc’s braking system remains largely supplied by Brembo.

While Hamilton’s configuration requires a radically different driving style and introduces alternative compromises in aerodynamic cooling, it delivers a predictable, linear pedal response that Leclerc’s current system entirely lacks.

“We do have the solution and I will go into Lewis’ direction from next race onwards, and that will solve the issues I deal with,” Leclerc concluded.

“Maybe Lewis’ configuration has other issues, but I just need consistency at that point, and that’s it.”