‘I look like an idiot’ - Charles Leclerc on crashing out of F1 Monaco GP

Ferrari Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc said he was made to “look like an idiot” after crashing out of the Monaco Grand Prix.

Home hero Leclerc suffered a heartbreaking end to his home race when he crashed out of on lap 65, causing the second of two safety cars in a dramatic conclusion to Sunday’s race.

The race was red-flagged so that the circuit’s asphalt could be investigated after concerns that break up had led to incidents for Leclerc and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, who crashed at the same corner on lap 60.

Leclerc fumed about his race-ending crash over team radio, and appeared to blame his brakes. “I’m not even going to take the blame! These f***ing brakes,” he bemoaned.

And the Monegasque stood by that assessment after the race, dismissing suggestions that loose asphalt might have caused the crash.

“It doesn’t help to have asphalt that is coming off but data speaks for itself,” Leclerc told Sky Sports F1.

“It’s extremely frustrating. I’ve always been very honest, and no matter how many mistakes I do, I would hate to look at myself in the mirror and see myself finding excuses when I do a mistake.

“That’s why I’m always bluntly honest whenever I’m in front of cameras, but I’m not going to take any of it today.

“With cold tyre temperatures, the inconsistency and tires being more sensitive because you are on the limit, have just been an absolute nightmare.

“I look like an idiot, and when you look like an idiot for a mistake of yours, it’s fine, but it’s borderline dangerous.”

Speaking to media including Crash.net after his TV interviews, Leclerc explained: “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 only thing that I can say is that we have the solution in house and I’ll go to Lewis’s configuration for the next race onwards, which will hopefully be a step. It’s been a nightmare.”

Leclerc revealed the issue cropped up on his Ferrari during the first safety car period.

“As soon as I did the safety car, three of my four brakes stopped working," he said.

"I could never switch them on again, nothing was working anymore. I tried to do many actions in the car to try and help it. The only solution I had was to not brake in the last corner, but I would have crashed in Turn 1. There was just no solution.

"I don't know if it was a wear issue. It’s often a problem here. I don't know what it was, but there was a clear issue."

Asked if he has experienced the problem before, Leclerc replied: "No, not to that extent. Surely sometimes it's a little bit tricky, but there it was just not possible to go around a corner.”

Leclerc said Ferrari’s senior management agreed with his verdict after reviewing the data.

"Fred [Vasseur, Ferrari team principal] and Jerome [d’Ambrosio, Ferrari deputy team principal] saw the data, and I think it's very clear for everyone. I don't think there's any doubt," he added.

When asked if there were any positives to take from the race, Leclerc responded: “That I'll have a solution for the brakes next weekend."