The brake supplier for Ferrari in Formula 1 has issued a statement conveying “great astonishment” at Charles Leclerc’s Monaco Grand Prix crash, which he blamed on the car’s brakes.
The home hero appeared to dive nose-first into the outside barrier at Anthony Noughes upon a Safety Car restart in opposite lock, ending his race whilst in third place.
Leclerc quickly vented over radio before exiting the SF-26, saying he was “not even going to take the f***ing blame,” adding: “These f***ing brakes!”
The #16 driver, who had, earlier that week, signed a long-term contract with the Scuderia, was then seen remonstrating with the team, as well as debriefing with Team Principal Fred Vasseur and Deputy, Jerome D’Ambrosio.
“Well, out of the four brakes, I had three brakes not working,” Leclerc told media including Motorsport Week after the race, looking for answers for why the incident occurred.
“So in an F1 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 the car. So it’s a little bit of an issue.”
Brembo, a long-term partner of the Maranello-based squad, subsequently issued a statement later on Sunday evening to quell any upswell of negative connotations aimed at the organisation.
“The Brembo Group expresses great astonishment regarding what happened to Charles Leclerc during the Monaco Grand Prix and is very surprised by the statements made by the driver after the race,” it wrote.
“The partnership between Brembo and Scuderia Ferrari has been ongoing for over 50 years and also extends to other brands within the group, such as AP Racing clutches and Ohlins shock absorbers, confirming the solidity and breadth of the collaboration.”
“The company is currently unaware of the causes of the problems encountered by Charles Leclerc and therefore believes it is premature to make definitive technical assessments before analysing the available data. In cases like this, it is indeed necessary to examine the telemetry data alongside the team’s engineers to pinpoint the exact origin of the incident.”
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