Lewis Hamilton has set the record straight after Charles Leclerc sparked a row with Ferrari's brake supplier following the Monaco Grand Prix. The hometown hero was on course for a podium finish on the streets of Monte-Carlo until he crashed into the wall at the safety car restart. Leclerc was clearly furious over the radio and refused to take the blame for the accident, instead blaming his brakes.
Afterwards, he said: "It's not even braking. I touch 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 was like I had no rear brakes at all. That's what I'm dealing with since two races now. And I'm weighing my words. I don't have much words today. I look like an idiot. And when you look like an idiot for a mistake of yours, it's fine, but it's borderline dangerous."
Leclerc added that his brake issues were so severe that he would have found the wall at the following corner, even if he had managed to get around the final turn. Ferrari's brake supplier, Brembo, later expressed 'surprise' at Leclerc's comments and accused the 28-year-old of drawing 'premature' conclusions.
Leclerc is expected to adopt the same brake configuration as Hamilton at this weekend's race in Barcelona to avoid the issues that plagued him in Monaco. Speaking in his press conference, Hamilton said: "I changed my brakes in Japan. It's been something I'd asked for a long time ago. I look at every element of what we have and look to see how we can make it better. Ultimately it's down to driver preference and feel. Both of us tested the option that I'm racing and Charles didn't want it in the end. He chose the one he's on and now he's changed his mind. It doesn't make any difference to me. That's, again, not the single factor that's made the difference. My goal is to give input that elevates the whole team and Charles is a part of that."
Ferrari will certainly be hoping for the changes to have the desired impact in Barcelona as they look to secure a third straight podium finish.
