Charles Leclerc will test Carbon Industrie brake discs and pads at this weekend’s Barcelona Grand Prix, stepping away from the Brembo configuration he blamed for his Monaco crash. Motorsport.com reports that the Ferrari driver will run the same brake setup as teammate Lewis Hamilton in opening practice before deciding whether to keep it for the rest of the weekend. The move comes days after Brembo publicly disputed Leclerc’s brake-failure claim, calling any conclusion premature until telemetry is analyzed.
Highlights
- Leclerc will test Carbon Industrie discs and pads in FP1 at Barcelona, with the option to revert to his Brembo configuration if the feel does not improve.
- Hamilton has run Carbon Industrie discs and pads since the Japanese Grand Prix; both cars retain Brembo calipers and master cylinders.
- Leclerc says three of his four brakes were not generating deceleration when he crashed out of third place with 14 laps remaining in Monaco.
- Leclerc has not stood on the podium since the Japanese Grand Prix in March and sits fourth in the championship, behind Hamilton.
What Did Leclerc Say Happened in Monaco?
Leclerc crashed out of his home race at the final corner while running third, and afterward attributed the accident to a technical issue on the SF-26 rather than driver error.
“I’m not even going to take the blame,” he said. “Out of the four brakes, I had three brakes not working. So in a Formula 1 car, it’s never a good thing.
“The front left was working well, the front right was half working, and the two rear brakes were not working at all. And when I say at all, it’s that on data, there’s no deceleration at all. It’s like the calipers were not even in the car.”
Speaking after the race, Leclerc indicated the fix was already identified. “We have the solution in-house, and I’ll go to the Lewis configuration from next race onward,” he said.
What Changes on Leclerc’s Car
The switch covers friction material, not the braking system as a whole. Both Ferraris continue to run Brembo calipers and master cylinders; the change moves Leclerc’s discs and pads to Carbon Industrie, a subsidiary of aerospace landing-gear manufacturer Safran Landing Systems. Hamilton made the same move at the Japanese Grand Prix and has cited improved brake feel since.
Motorsport.com characterizes the choice as a matter of driver preference rather than a verdict on either supplier — some drivers favor the Brembo disc, others the Carbon Industrie material. If the FP1 test goes well, Leclerc continues on the Carbon Industrie material; if not, he returns to his previous configuration and works with his engineers on other solutions.
Ferrari Backs the Change
Ferrari deputy team principal Jerome d’Ambrosio said the team’s focus is on resolving the issue for Leclerc: “As for the next races, our goal is to be 100 percent supportive of Charles. Tomorrow we’ll return home, analyse what happened, determine the best course of action, and move in the direction we deem most appropriate.”
Team principal Frederic Vasseur also committed to a full review: “We will carefully analyse the situation, understand exactly what happened and make sure we address it for Barcelona.”
What It Means for Brembo
The development adds a practical dimension to a dispute that had been rhetorical. Brembo, whose partnership with Ferrari spans more than 50 years, maintains that no fault has been established and that the telemetry must be reviewed before any technical conclusion is drawn. A driver-preference change on disc and pad material does not resolve that question — but it does mean a Ferrari will line up in Barcelona with less Brembo friction material on it than at any point in recent memory, while the supplier’s calipers and hydraulics remain on both cars.
Whether the new material restores Leclerc’s confidence, and whether the Monaco telemetry ultimately supports his account, are now separate questions — one answered in practice this weekend, the other still with Ferrari’s engineers.
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