F1 Didn’t Show You This: Leclerc’s Race Exposes Ferrari’s SF-25 Flaws

An unseen video of Charles Leclerc’s struggles with the brakes on his SF-25 F1 car from last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix has surfaced online, which was not broadcast by Formula One. Although the setback was not as drastic as Lewis Hamilton’s brake failure incident towards the end of the race, it did compromise Leclerc’s race entirely.

The race at the Marina Bay Circuit was a busy one for the broadcaster, given the track action between multiple cars, which likely caused Leclerc’s problems to go unnoticed. The Monegasque driver started the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit from P7, one place behind Hamilton, but during the race, his attempts to gain positions were severely hindered as his race engineer, Bryan Bozzi, instructed him on the team radio to practice LICO (lift off and coast) from Lap 5 itself due to the high brake temperature, a problem that could have ended his race much earlier.

This prevented Leclerc from pushing hard. As Ferrari monitored his car’s data, he was asked to perform LICO on select corners and laps until his brakes had cooled down. The YouTube video, which showcases Leclerc’s problems, revealed how his second LICO instruction came on Lap 17 since the rear left disc temperature had shot up significantly. The instruction was repeated on Lap 18 due to no reduction in the brake temperature.

On Lap 20, Leclerc asked Bozzi to tell him when he could push again. He was then asked to pick up the pace gradually. On Lap 28, Leclerc was asked for a “mild LICO” again when Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli was on his tail, within DRS range. On Lap 39, the Ferrari driver was asked to protect his front brakes since they had started overheating. Two laps later, Leclerc urged for timely updates on the front and rear brakes, leading Bozzi to confirm he could push.

Unfortunately for the 27-year-old driver, LICO was back to annoy him on Lap 51, this time for 20 meters to protect the front and rear brakes. Kimi Antonelli passed him as a result, leading Leclerc to react furiously on Lap 54. He said:

“Don’t even complain for f*cks sake, we are doing 200 meters like all the time.”

Leclerc continued driving this way until he crossed the finish line. Unfortunately for Hamilton, he reportedly failed to heed brake temperature warnings early in the race, which led to a brake failure situation on Lap 59 of 62. Consequently, his position dropped from P6 to P7, but a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits due to the brake problem meant he finished eighth.