Charles Leclerc was fuming with Ferrari after a brake issue saw him crash out of his home Monaco Grand Prix and made him “look like an idiot.”
Leclerc was running third behind teammate Lewis Hamilton when he slid out and into the barrier ahead of a Safety Car restart late in the race, crashing out at the final corner.
“Honestly, I”m not even going to take the f---ing blame ... These f---ing brakes!" he said on the radio immediately after crashing.
Leclerc’s luck at his home race was supposed to have improved after his famous and emotional win in 2024, one which ended the so-called Monaco Grand Prix “curse,” a long list of heartbreaking crashes and strategy gaffes -- he also finished second behind Lando Norris last year.
He will now be able to add another setback to that list.
“I’m weighing my words. I mean, I don’t have much words,” he said. “Today, I look like an idiot. When you look like an idiot for a mistake of yours, it’s fine, but it’s borderline dangerous.”
Leclerc’s crash prompted the race to be suspended by the FIA as tarmac had come loose at the exact same part of the track where he had gone off.
Lance Stroll had slid off the road and into the barrier at exactly the same point earlier in the race.
Leclerc, known for his brutal honesty about mistakes he’s made in the past, said his crash had nothing to do with that.
When asked if it could have been down to the asphalt, he said: “I mean, it doesn’t help to have enough asphalt that is coming off, but data speak for itself. I don’t know how much I can go into the detail. It’s extremely frustrating.
“I think I’ve always been very honest, and no matter how many mistakes I do, I will hate to look at myself in the mirror and see myself finding excuses when I do a mistake. So 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.
“It’s not even braking. I touched the brakes and there’s just something with those brakes that on the front brakes, it just broke a lot more than what I thought. And in the rear brakes, it had no deceleration at all. It’s like I had no rear brakes at all.
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“And yeah, that’s what I’m dealing with since two races now. So we’ve had some differences of brakes in between cars, but I don’t think it’s been a disadvantage for me at all. And in Montreal with cold tyre temperatures, the inconsistency and the tyres being a lot more sensitive because you’re on the limit of those have just been an absolute nightmare.”
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur, who attended the race after missing Saturday’s track meet action due to an overnight hospital visit, said the problem will be looked at before next week’s Spanish Grand Prix.
“For Charles, it was obviously a very frustrating outcome. We experienced brake issues throughout the weekend and something was clearly not working as it should.
“We will analyse the situation carefully, understand exactly what happened and make sure we address it before Barcelona. Charles was in a strong position and it’s disappointing to lose those points, especially in his home race.”
