Charles Leclerc will be starting the 2026 F1 Monaco GP in the second row beside teammate Lewis Hamilton in P4.
After a strong start to his weekend on home ground, where he finished in the top 3 of all three free practice sessions, the Monegasque was a strong contender for pole position in Qualifying.
Leclerc had topped Q1 of Qualifying and was the pacesetter for the early half of Qualifying. However, the 28-year-old’s struggles with his Ferrari soon became prominent and started to hinder his performance entering Q3 despite briefly clinching provisional pole.
Leclerc had aborted more than one run in Q3 as he struggled to maintain momentum. His final attempt was then cut short as he ended up hitting the barrier at Tabac.
Leclerc speaks on the persistent brake issue that hindered performance at the 2026 F1 Monaco GP
Leclerc has clearly shown strong pace throughout the 2026 F1 Monaco GP weekend thus far. However, the Monegaque has also suffered from brake issues since the beginning, which has had a significant effect on his performance on track.
The 28-year-old admitted that he does not have a clear idea of the main problem just yet. He explained that he was learning more about the brake issue each time he got on track. Leclerc then shared that this was a problem that had affected him since the 2026 F1 Montreal GP.
“Well, the thing is that I’m definitely not knowing what I’m having. At the moment, it’s a bit of a discovery whenever I get on the brakes, and yeah, I don’t want to go too much into detail, and I won’t go into more detail than what I’ve said, but it’s been extremely inconsistent, and I’ve just been struggling massively.
“Whether it was in Montreal or here, especially when tyres are just not in the right window, and the tyre is also digital, on top of that, the inconsistency from the car made it very difficult for me.”
However, there was one positive from the 2026 F1 Monaco GP Qualifying for Leclerc. Despite the brake and handling problems, the Monegasque agreed with his rivals about enjoying laps without battery concerns for the first time this season.
“Yeah, I mean, I agree, there was no energy loss during the lap, which is a good thing, it was all attack from the beginning to the end, which is something I enjoyed.”
Leclerc has been struggling since FP1
The Monegasque then elaborated on the unpredictability of the brake issue from inside the cockpit. According to Leclerc, many minor details contributed to the brake issue, which made it hard to pinpoint the main problem.
“Oh, I mean, corner to corner, it’s not really behaving the same way, so it’s just extremely tricky. We are speaking about details, but I think the fact of being in or out of the window of the tyre all the time, these fine details make a huge difference, and yeah, I’ve just been struggling with it. I’ve been struggling recently.”
Leclerc also clarified that this was a problem that he encountered since the beginning of the 2026 F1 Monaco GP weekend in FP1, and that it was mainly due to the tyres, not the changes in setups throughout the weekend.
“Already in FP1, I felt I was really, really struggling, so yeah, it didn’t make it better or worse, it’s just been the same.”
Reflecting on the final push lap
In his final attempt to reclaim provisional pole at the 2026 F1 Monaco GP in Q3, Leclerc had to abandon the lap after making contact with the barrier at Tabac.
The Monegasque reflected on the final lap and shared that it started as a competitive effort. However, his encounter with dirty air on the track triggered the costly mistake.
“I was very much on the edge, and I think it was a very good lap until then, but I never finished it, so it’s a bit needless to say that. But yeah, it was a good lap. I had a little bit of dirty air in that lap where I lost it in Turn 12. I don’t know, there was no traffic in itself, it was just dirty air. It made me lose a little bit the rear in entry, and I touched it.“
Leclerc also gave an update on Ferrari team principal, Fred Vasseur, who missed the 2026 F1 Monaco GP Qualifying after being admitted to a local medical facility and shared that Vasseur still contributed to the session.
“I mean, Fred has been, even though he’s not on track, has been very much involved with today, so yeah, we miss Fred on track, but he’s been there, and he’s still supported us.”
