Charles Leclerc has again defended the criticisms he directed at Ferrari’s brakes, following the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix. The Monégasque driver asserted that he had not changed his mind about the brake issue he faced in his home race, even after Brembo’s public reaction, the team’s official braking partner.
The topic gained attention after Leclerc retired from the Monaco race and described the braking situation as ‘nearly dangerous’. The statements led Brembo to publish an official press release criticizing the Ferrari driver’s comments.
Despite the controversy, Leclerc made it clear that he remains convinced of his assessments. When asked about his analysis of the incident after reviewing the race events, the Monégasque driver was straightforward in replying that he had not altered his opinion.
“No. But, again, I don’t want to talk too much about what happened. I rarely speak impulsively, but when I do it’s because I’ve already checked things beforehand, so I don’t have much more to add,” he stated.
Brake problems have been a recurring complaint from Leclerc for several races. Consequently, the driver decided to adopt, starting this upcoming weekend in Barcelona, the same setup used by Lewis Hamilton, who, according to reports, uses components from a different supplier.
Ferrari has been conducting tests with different brake configurations throughout the season. Hamilton revealed in Barcelona that both he and Leclerc tried out his setup during the Japanese Grand Prix, but at that time, the teammate chose to continue with the solution he had been using.
Leclerc confirmed the version presented by the seven-time champion. When asked about the earlier choice and Brembo’s public response, he avoided going into detail about the second issue, but acknowledged that the initial decision was made jointly by the team.
“I’m not going to comment much on the second part. I don’t have much more to add about it. Lewis is right. It was a team decision to split the configurations between the cars,” he added.
The Monégasque driver also admitted that the last two weekends were tougher than he had initially expected. Therefore, he chose to follow the same path taken by Hamilton: “The last two races were more difficult than I initially imagined. So I’ll follow Lewis’s lead,” concluded the Ferrari driver.
