Ferrari Confirms Hamilton, Leclerc Using Different Brake Setups

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc left Monaco with very different feelings about their weekend. For Leclerc, the Principality represents home — the streets where he grew up, the circuit where he once dreamed of racing — making any result there deeply personal.

For Hamilton, it was a chance to reassert himself in the title fight, and he took it, securing a podium finish for second place that allowed him to leapfrog Leclerc in the Drivers' Championship standings. The contrast between the two Ferrari drivers could not have been starker.

While Hamilton climbed onto the podium in what is arguably the most prestigious race on the calendar, Leclerc was forced to retire following an incident that ended his race before the chequered flag. It was a crushing outcome for the Monegasque, who had been well-placed to score important points before his race unravelled, and one that has reopened questions about the SF-26's performance consistency across different driving styles.

It is worth noting that Leclerc's difficult relationship with Monaco accidents and retirements is well-documented. The crash in qualifying that famously cost him a potential pole-to-win in the early years of his Ferrari career has become one of the defining storylines of his time with the Scuderia, and incidents like Sunday's retirement continue to add chapters to that complicated history.

In the hours following the Monaco race, questions began circulating about whether the two Ferrari drivers were operating with the same car specification, or whether Hamilton had been given an advantage through access to different components. The specific focus of those questions was braking hardware.

It was subsequently confirmed that Hamilton had changed brake suppliers on his Ferrari, switching away from Ferrari's previous partner to a manufacturer he had worked with extensively during his time at Mercedes. Ferrari sporting director Jérôme d'Ambrosio addressed the matter directly to the Press.

He acknowledged that Leclerc had been openly struggling with his braking feel throughout the weekend and confirmed that the two drivers are currently running different brake solutions. He stated that the team would be returning to the factory to analyse the situation in detail and determine the best path forward, adding that the priority as a team is always to ensure each driver has the feedback and confidence they need from the car.

That process, he indicated, would be completed in the days between Monaco and Barcelona.