2026 Scuderia Ferrari HP F1 Team

[Dee]

This is true. When they were in clean air on the starting tyre HAM was pulling away. Charles closed in on next tyre but that was just HAM managing the temperatures. Things stabilized after. I am also surprised that Charles wasn't on Lewis' gearbox at a strong Charles track and a relatively weak HAM track.

I would be surprised if that was the case..if Charles was happy with his car, but he wasn't. In Canada he said he felt the worst he has ever felt in a car since starting F1 because of the brakes and now mentioned them again and the data backs him up. In both races, he has lost control of the car. What gets me is why he needs to change to Lewis's system, surely they can put new brakes on if these are faulty?

I believe he is refering to the engine braking behaviour. With the hybrid being 45% the engine braking has to work over a very wide range. It is used to recharge the battery as well as for the usual retardation such as corner entry. It must work in perfect unision with the gearshifts to give a smooth, natural feedback. The problem with these regs in Monaco is that there is an excess of kinetic energy because of frequent braking zones, so the MGUK portion of the engine braking is only lightly used... This means that you now revert to relying on the old-school engine compression braking at different points on the track. The difference in behaviours between the two is noticeable accroding to the drivers and the engineers do their best to make this as seamless as possible. More likely a combination of software tuning, different rear brakes and the hydraulic system. Charles is not having a good time adopting to this weird way the car must work in these regs.

All that is fine, but where was this issue in the first few races of the season? The only thing that has been changing is the car as it is being upgraded..

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/what ... to-fix-it/

“We have worked on the pad material itself, specifically to give some sort of variation for this generation of mu [the coefficient of friction between the brake discs and pad] that can suit more his [Hamilton's] driving style,” explained Algeri

“It takes time to be realised and tested by the team. If you are lucky, it takes weeks, if not months. So it's quite challenging, but we are going in this direction.”

This was said in Aug 2025

Maybe they have put in a new system that suits Lewis more;

The comparison between Charles and Lewis in Canada;

Charles Leclerc: "It's been one of, if not the, worst weekend of my career. I have work to do to get to Lewis's level on a day like this. I will look into the data. I've gone through difficult races [before] where you analyse after and you learn a lot."

Lewis Hamilton: "The happiest day of my Ferrari days so far. I finally have the engineering team that I've been working towards. I think our car is great. I can understand it and am a lot more comfortable with it. While we're not exactly where we want to be, getting this result has capitalised on our great reliability. I feel very light right now, mentally in a good place."

Lewis two days ago;
https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/arti ... kyjev1pvzo

"Fred has been awesome in supporting me," he said. "Last year was a really, really tough year for us, and begging him for certain changes (in the team and car), and he pulled through, and he did those, and now I'm seeing the fruits of that, and I'm able to finally deliver for them."

[SoulPancake13]

The quicker driver (imo) this weekend had brakes that didn't work and Mercedes in Canada confirmed they have the best overall car. Once they suited out the balance this weekend they were flying.

the quicker driver finished in P2 and the other one crashed unrelated to brakes and is looking on what to blame

This is true. When they were in clean air on the starting tyre HAM was pulling away. Charles closed in on next tyre but that was just HAM managing the temperatures. Things stabilized after. I am also surprised that Charles wasn't on Lewis' gearbox at a strong Charles track and a relatively weak HAM track.

Hamilton started the race faster, yes, but ran through his tyres quicker than Charles (Charles was about 2 seconds behind when Hamilton decided to pit). Then on stint 2 Leclerc was almost 7 tenths to a second faster than Hamilton per lap. He was behind 13 seconds and was under 2 seconds when the safety car came out.

Anyways, not going to argue about it, pretty clear now post race given how rare it is for Charles not to take the blame that there was a serious issue with the brakes.

[AR3-GP]

the quicker driver finished in P2 and the other one crashed unrelated to brakes and is looking on what to blame

This is true. When they were in clean air on the starting tyre HAM was pulling away. Charles closed in on next tyre but that was just HAM managing the temperatures. Things stabilized after. I am also surprised that Charles wasn't on Lewis' gearbox at a strong Charles track and a relatively weak HAM track.

Hamilton started the race faster, yes, but ran through his tyres quicker than Charles (Charles was about 2 seconds behind when Hamilton decided to pit). Then on stint 2 Leclerc was almost 7 tenths to a second faster than Hamilton per lap. He was behind 13 seconds and was under 2 seconds when the safety car came out.

Anyways, not going to argue about it, pretty clear now post race given how rare it is for Charles not to take the blame that there was a serious issue with the brakes.

There was something he was struggling with. He knew that. He had option for something safer. He didn't take it. He ended up in the wall twice as a result. He is not free of fault here. He may not have designed those parts, but he is a factor in why they were on the car for 2 weekends when he couldn't drive with them. If you can't driven with it in an open circuit like Montreal, why would you drive 3 practice sessions, qualifying and a GP between the walls with them?

[Dee]

This is true. When they were in clean air on the starting tyre HAM was pulling away. Charles closed in on next tyre but that was just HAM managing the temperatures. Things stabilized after. I am also surprised that Charles wasn't on Lewis' gearbox at a strong Charles track and a relatively weak HAM track.

Hamilton started the race faster, yes, but ran through his tyres quicker than Charles (Charles was about 2 seconds behind when Hamilton decided to pit). Then on stint 2 Leclerc was almost 7 tenths to a second faster than Hamilton per lap. He was behind 13 seconds and was under 2 seconds when the safety car came out.

Anyways, not going to argue about it, pretty clear now post race given how rare it is for Charles not to take the blame that there was a serious issue with the brakes.

There was something he was struggling with. He knew that. He had option for something safer. He didn't take it. He ended up in the wall twice as a result. He is not free of fault here. He may not have designed those parts, but he is a factor in why they were on the car for 2 weekends when he couldn't drive with them. If you can't driven with it in an open circuit like Montreal, why would you drive 3 practice sessions, qualifying and a GP between the walls with them?

Is it a last stand in a power dynamic? He was trying to make his configuration work instead of going with Lewis's system.

[amr]

Hamilton started the race faster, yes, but ran through his tyres quicker than Charles (Charles was about 2 seconds behind when Hamilton decided to pit). Then on stint 2 Leclerc was almost 7 tenths to a second faster than Hamilton per lap. He was behind 13 seconds and was under 2 seconds when the safety car came out.

Anyways, not going to argue about it, pretty clear now post race given how rare it is for Charles not to take the blame that there was a serious issue with the brakes.

I think there was a missed opportunity strategy wise today.

When LH stopped 1st time, LH should have stayed out and CL should have pit. CL had a free pit to 4th place.

That way, Merc would have either pit to cover CL and give away track position to LH in case of a lucky safety car or don't pit and risc having CL undercutting them on fresh tires

Maybe not much would have changed in the end but the it was clear the Merc is running away with it anyway.

I feel like Ferrari should try to maximise the points even though that might mean a unfavourable strategy to one of the driver every now and then.

[El_KaPpa]

"the Brembo group expresses its great astonishment at what happened to charles leclerc during the Monaco GP and is very surprised by the statements made by the driver after the race"

[Dee]

"the Brembo group expresses its great astonishment at what happened to charles leclerc during the Monaco GP and is very surprised by the statements made by the driver after the race"

They need to get a grip, many cars have their brakes. This is a Ferrari issue.

[AR3-GP]

"the Brembo group expresses its great astonishment at what happened to charles leclerc during the Monaco GP and is very surprised by the statements made by the driver after the race"

A driver being publicly rebuked by a renowned multi-national corporation, longtime F1 supplier, and Italian company is very strange to say the least. There is something else going on.

[Luscion]

Full statement from Brembo

“Brembo Group is really surprised by the statements made by Charles Leclerc after F1 Monaco Grand Prix.”

“At present, the company does not know the causes of the issues experienced by Charles Leclerc and therefore considers it premature to draw definitive technical conclusions before the available data has been analysed.”

“In cases such as this, it is necessary to examine the telemetry data together with the team’s engineers in order to accurately determine the origin of the incident.”

“Today, Brembo is a benchmark in Formula 1 and is present on every car on the grid through its braking technologies. Over the years, Formula 1 teams have continued to choose Brembo solutions, recognising their reliability, innovation and world-class performance.”

[SoulPancake13]

Wow. The rumors are true according to AutoRacer. Hamilton has been using Carbon Industries brake discs since the Japanese GP.

[Luscion]

"the Brembo group expresses its great astonishment at what happened to charles leclerc during the Monaco GP and is very surprised by the statements made by the driver after the race"

A driver being publicly rebuked by a renowned multi-national corporation, longtime F1 supplier, and Italian company is very strange to say the least. There is something else going on.

Apparently Lewis switched to carbon industries brake discs in Japan which he prefers and Charles stuck with brembo and is having all these issue. Makes sense why Brembo came out with a public statement that its not their brakes that are the issue

[El_KaPpa]

If Lewis switched to Carbon Industries weeks ago in Japan, so why are Leclerc’s brakes suddenly a major problem since Canada? Brakes don't just change behavior overnight. It’s funny how this miracle issue appears right when Hamilton completely outclassed him.

[bluechris]

If Lewis switched to Carbon Industries weeks ago in Japan, so why are Leclerc’s brakes suddenly a major problem since Canada? Brakes don't just change behavior overnight. It’s funny how this miracle issue appears right when Hamilton completely outclassed him.

Maybe completely different brakes, need something different from setup side and needed time and races to be on top of it? Just a guess but for sure Hamilton brakes much better lately.

[Dee]

"the Brembo group expresses its great astonishment at what happened to charles leclerc during the Monaco GP and is very surprised by the statements made by the driver after the race"

A driver being publicly rebuked by a renowned multi-national corporation, longtime F1 supplier, and Italian company is very strange to say the least. There is something else going on.

Apparently Lewis switched to carbon industries brake discs in Japan which he prefers and Charles stuck with brembo and is having all these issue. Makes sense why Brembo came out with a public statement that its not their brakes that are the issue

Well, it would in fact mean it is their issue.

My only query is, why is Charles so angry now?

Is there politics at play? Charles spoke to the media about the issue now, why? Why didn't he change to them in Japan like Lewis did?

[Dee]

If Lewis switched to Carbon Industries weeks ago in Japan, so why are Leclerc’s brakes suddenly a major problem since Canada? Brakes don't just change behavior overnight. It’s funny how this miracle issue appears right when Hamilton completely outclassed him.

Well the team have two cars using two different brakes and the drivers use the same setup, is it better for one than the other?