Why Leclerc’s battle of the brakes has left him trailing his Ferrari team-mate

No sooner had the ink dried on Charles Leclerc’s new deal with Ferrari – with the accompanying press release massaged to feature what I like to call ‘Ferrari bingo’: the usual emotive cliches of passion, spirit, heartbeat, tifosi, et al – than the Monegasque could not be allowed to revel in the Rosso Corsa-tinged language.

The announcement tied in with his home race, the annual 78-lap Monte Carlo parade, one that Leclerc was tipped to win given Ferrari’s current potency in any layout with a plethora of corners.

The truth was that Monaco began as a disappointment and then mutated into a disaster. Leclerc did not attack the streets he’d been lucky enough to grow up on with the same verve as in previous years, his waltz between the walls appearing laboured and lethargic.

When his car slid into the Antony Noghes barrier to produce the late-race red flag, most suspected that he’d been caught out by the track break-up on the exit of the Rascasse. But Leclerc was keen to point out that the true reason was very different, linked to his muted efforts in qualifying: a distinct lack of braking feel.

Through the race, the variation in temperatures was such that only one of his brakes was working optimally by the time he crashed into the wall

What we know is this: Ferrari has had a very long and prosperous association with brake manufacturer Brembo. For 2026, the Italian company produced a new package for the demands of the new machinery, which require a different system to contend with the new powertrains and the different wheel dimensions.

Lewis Hamilton, however, wanted to try a different set of discs to match his style of high initial peak deceleration, and the Brembos did not necessarily facilitate that. It was agreed that, for March’s Japanese Grand Prix, he would be allowed to trial a set of Carbon Industrie-designed discs – he used the French company’s products at Mercedes, and was very familiar with how to get the best from them. Leclerc was invited to try them as well and duly did so, but elected to stick to Brembo’s full package at Suzuka. 

It became apparent, however, that the brake splits – the variation in temperatures, either between each side or from front to back – were difficult to manage. This made the feeling of the brakes quite inconsistent, depriving Leclerc of confidence in brake-critical phases, which contributed to a surprisingly muted Monaco qualifying. Through the race, the variation in temperatures was such that only one of his brakes was working optimally by the time he crashed into the wall. 

Long-time Ferrari partner Brembo was quick to respond to Leclerc’s post-race criticism

Photo by: Jayce Illman / Getty Images

Now, when it came to Leclerc’s obvious displeasure over the radio in the aftermath of his crash, he later told media that he would be moving to Hamilton’s set-up for Barcelona and beyond. This didn’t sound like a big deal, perhaps suggesting that he wanted the team to change a few things with the rear brake-by-wire system or how the braking system can be tuned to provide the peak deceleration at a certain point.

So, when Brembo came out and stated that it was “shocked” by Leclerc’s comments about its products, it very much revealed that he actually took umbrage with the components themselves, rather than the manner in which they were used. The story of Hamilton using CI’s products then made its way into the open, with Brembo having Streisand Effected* itself into being the centre of the story.

(*If anyone’s unsure of the term, Barbra Streisand once tried to sue a photographer for taking a photo of her house under the violation of privacy, when in fact the photographer was helping California’s Coastal Records Project document coastal erosion – and the appearance of her house among the open-access images was purely incidental. As a result of the legal action making the news, Streisand had accidentally let slip where she lived.)

The story of Hamilton using CI’s products then made its way into the open, with Brembo having Streisand Effected* itself into being the centre of the story

Although Leclerc was now armed with a different brake disc construction, he suffered another difficult weekend at Barcelona: he crashed out in Q3, and recovered to get on course for fifth place in the grand prix, before his power steering failed a few laps from the end. Although perhaps typical of his luck in F1, it also demonstrates that there’s something of a performance gulf opening between Leclerc and the on-form Hamilton.

After Hamilton’s Barcelona win, the gap between the Briton and Leclerc opened to 40 points, and ahead of the British GP stood at 46. Now that Ferrari has proved it can win a race, Leclerc needs to turn the ship around to start making use of the opportunities that present themselves.

You’d have thought that Leclerc, for all of his talent and reputation as one of F1’s best qualifiers, would have been the Ferrari driver most likely to take the fight to the Mercedes pair – but there’s still plenty of time for him to live up to that billing. With the change in braking set-up he reckons that the SF-26 does feel better, but it’s apparent that he’s got to start taking matters into his own hands.

This article is one of many in the monthly Autosport magazine. For more premium content, take a look at the August 2026 issue and subscribe today.

Switch to Carbon Industrie-designed discs prompted by Hamilton’s desire for a set-up that works with his braking style

Photo by: EYE4images / NurPhoto via Getty Images