Unheard Charles Leclerc radio reveals full extent of Ferrari’s brake struggles

An unheard Charles Leclerc team radio message has highlighted the extent of Ferrari’s brake troubles during the 2025 F1 Singapore Grand Prix.

Ferrari endured another disappointing weekend at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, with Leclerc finishing a distant sixth.

Lewis Hamilton finished eighth after his brakes effectively failed in the final two laps. 

The issue forced him to cut several corners, incurring a five-second time penalty as a result.

Leclerc was also forced to manage his brakes and compromise his pace for most of the race.

After losing out to Kimi Antonelli at Turn 16 - after the Italian pulled off a ballsy overtake - Leclerc vented his frustration over team radio with a message not broadcast on F1.

“Don’t even complain. For fucks sake. We’re doing 200 metres of LICO all the time!,” Leclerc said over team radio.

LICO stands for “Lift and Coast”, something that has been a common occurrence for Ferrari throughout this season.

Leclerc and Hamilton have spent most of their races lifting and coasting amid concerns over possible plank wear and their brakes.

Speaking to reporters after the race, Leclerc revealed he had to manage his brakes “throughout the entire race”.

“I think in the last laps we lost about 15 seconds to the leaders,” Leclerc said. “But that doesn’t fully reflect the reality.

“I had to manage the brakes throughout the entire race, and it was far from ideal. All of us had to do it given the temperatures.

“But for us, it was really extreme, especially towards the end. From the first lap to the last, after the initial overtakes, it was an incredibly tough race.”

Ferrari now fourth-fastest

Ferrari have slipped back in the pecking order in recent rounds.

With Mercedes winning through George Russell, the Scuderia have dropped to third in the F1 constructors’ championship.

Ferrari’s P3 is also under threat, given Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s resurgence.

“Unfortunately, we are now the fourth team,” Leclerc added.

“Solidly, the 4th team, quite far behind the top 3. Mercedes managed to do the step that Red Bull did five races ago in Monza or four races ago…

“Whatever, too many races now and now they’ve managed to do that step… We didn’t manage to do that.”