Charles Leclerc's crash on the final corner of the Monaco Grand Prix sparked a heated debate after the Ferrari driver described his brakes as "not acceptable" and said three of the four brakes were effectively dead. Brembo, the brake supplier, issued a rare public statement, calling Leclerc's remarks premature and saying no obvious failure had been found in the data.
Early analysis points to cold rear brake discs rather than a mechanical fault. The 2026 regulations, which increase energy‑recovery harvesting and reduce overall brake usage, leave the rear discs generating far less heat, especially after a safety‑car period. As a result, the discs can fall below their optimal temperature window, producing little deceleration and a variable friction coefficient. Brembo's CEO has warned that such cold‑brake behaviour is now a higher risk, and the issue was amplified by Leclerc's comparatively gentle braking style and Ferrari's possible choice of larger rear discs.
Ferrari has not detailed its fix, but Leclerc said the team has an in‑house solution and will adopt Lewis Hamilton's brake configuration from the next race. Sources suggest the change could involve swapping to smaller rear discs or even adopting Carbone Industrie units, which Hamilton switched to earlier this season for a stronger initial bite. The outcome will test whether Ferrari can tame the cold‑brake problem as the season moves into hotter conditions.
