Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was out of the F1 2026 Monaco GP after hitting the barriers at Antony Noghès on lap 65 when running in P3.
The Monegasque had another difficult weekend at his home race. The local hero, who finally managed to win the Monaco GP in 2024, has had a string of bad luck in the circuit. And 2026 was no exception.
Leclerc had shown solid pace against his teammate, but still spent most laps on P3 behind his teammate Lewis Hamilton, after Verstappen retired on lap 1.
As a Safety Car was called due to Lance Stroll’s crash, Leclerc questioned the team’s choice to pit him behind Hamilton, as the Brit had to serve a time penalty for speeding on pit road.
Still, things got worse for Charles Leclerc who crashed into the same barriers minutes later. The Ferrari driver found the wall in the final corner on lap 65, bringing out another Safety Car and eventually a red flag.
“I had three brakes not working,” says Leclerc about his crash
After the disappointing result, Charles Leclerc explained the issue he believes caused his unexpected crash: “Well, out of the four brakes, I had three brakes not working. So in a Formula One car, it’s never a good thing.
“And yeah, 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, I don’t know, the callipers were not even in power.”
He regretted: “So it’s a little bit of an issue.”
But he explained the solution could be achieved with a different set-up:
“The only thing I can say is that we have the solution in-house, and I’ll go to Lewis’ configuration from next race on watch, which hopefully will be a step.
“But yeah, it’s been a nightmare,” he concluded.
When asked whether this had ever happened before, Leclerc answered: “Not to that extent. Surely sometimes it’s a little bit tricky, but it was just not possible to go around the corner.”
Leclerc explains everything changed for him after the Safety Car
When further questioned about the brake problem, Charles Leclerc said: “As long as I was doing consecutive, it was inconsistent, but there were none of those problems, at least to that extent.
“The problem is the Safety Car,” he declared. “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. And yeah, 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 1. There’s no way I could have done a lap.”
The Ferrari driver concluded: “There was just no solution. So we’ll look into it. I don’t know if it was a wear issue. It’s often a problem here. I don’t know.I don’t know what was it, but there was a clear issue.”
Leclerc was also asked if any driver had faced the same problem, but he just mentioned: “We know from where it’s coming from, and as I said, we have the solution and I’ll have it on my car from next race.”
Leclerc’s final thoughts on the F1 2026 Monaco GP
The disappointed Monegasque gave short answers to further questions after the race.
When asked whether the team shared his hypothesis — after the TV coverage showed a heated discussion with Deputy Team Principal Jerome d’Ambrosio and Fred Vasseur— Leclerc stated:
“No. 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.”
The driver was also inquired about his pit stop during the Safety Car. Leclerc expressed his frustrations on the radio after Ferrari double stacked him and Hamilton, making him stay behind his teammate.
About this incident, Leclerc said: “Yeah, I mean, honestly, I don’t think this should be the story of the day. I think we just need to find a solution for our brakes, and then when these things will happen, then I will be able to do my job properly.”
He concluded: “But yeah, today I was a passenger.” And as the only positive to take from the weekend, he said: “That I’ll have a solution for the brakes next weekend.”
After the F1 2026 Monaco GP, Leclerc stands P4 in the Drivers’ Championship, while Hamilton climbs to P2. The Monegasque holds 75 points and is currently behind George Russell with 88, who also had a difficult weekend.
