Charles Leclerc clears himself and points fingers after sensational accident
Charles Leclerc leaves the Monaco Grand Prix with great bitterness after an unexpected and painful epilogue. At his home circuit, Ferrari’s Monegasque was forced to retire following an accident on the restart after the Safety Car, when he lost control of his SF-26 at the Anthony Noghes corner, ending up against the barriers. The incident also had major consequences for the race: the impact damaged the guards, necessitating the display of the red flag to allow officials to restore the track’s safety conditions.
In the post-race session, speaking to Sky Sports microphones, Leclerc ruled out that the mistake was related to a simple driving smear, pointing instead to a problem with the braking system. “I’m not the type to make excuses or hide behind alibis,” the Ferrarista explained. “Even reviewing the data, it is clear that there was nothing I could have done. When I was braking, the behavior of the car was abnormal: at the rear there seemed to be no braking, while at the front the response was excessive. The temperatures were not correct and the brakes were not working as they should. A dangerous situation.”
The Ferrari driver, however, pointed out that the team has already identified a possible solution. “The positive aspect, if you can call it that, is that we already have a way forward. Lewis Hamilton has adopted a different braking system configuration in the last three races, and from the next race I will make the same choice.”
Leclerc then also commented on the heated team radio he had during the race, when he had objected to the decision of the race wall to call him back to the pits along with Hamilton under the double pit-stop regime. A choice that had caused him to lose valuable time behind his teammate, despite the latter still having to serve a five-second penalty.
“I was under a lot of pressure at that moment,” he explained. “I had to slow down in pit lane to allow the double pit stop and I was even afraid of incurring a penalty. The tires were still in good condition and I could have continued without any problems. In any case, that is not the focus of the day. Without that episode we would probably have taken second and third place, a result I would have welcomed.”
