Leclerc switches to Hamilton's brake supplier for Barcelona after Monaco crash failure

Charles Leclerc will test a new brake supplier at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, switching to the Carbon Industrie configuration used by Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton after a catastrophic brake failure ended his Monaco Grand Prix in the barriers.

Leclerc was running third with 14 laps remaining at his home race when he lost control at the final corner. Speaking after the race, he made clear the crash was not a 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.”

The 28-year-old later described the experience as a “nightmare”. Ferrari moved quickly to identify a solution, pointing to the brake setup already in use on Hamilton’s SF-26. While Leclerc has been running Brembo discs and pads — a configuration he has struggled with for some time — Hamilton has been using Carbon Industrie components throughout the 2026 season.

For the Barcelona Grand Prix, Leclerc will run the Carbon Industrie setup during the first practice session before deciding whether to continue with it for the remainder of the weekend. Ferrari have framed the switch as a matter of driver preference rather than a clear performance advantage of one supplier over the other.

The timing is significant. Leclerc has not stood on the podium since the Japanese Grand Prix in March, a drought that has seen him slip to fourth in the Drivers’ Championship. Hamilton, meanwhile, has recorded back-to-back runner-up finishes in a notably rejuvenated start to his Ferrari career, and now sits ahead of his team-mate in the standings.

How Leclerc responds to the new brake package in practice will be one of the more intriguing technical storylines of the Barcelona weekend.