Charles Leclerc shocked by his Ferrari 'braking on its own' in untelevised Singapore GP radio
Photo: Race Pictures
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Henry Eccles is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs, and features across the F1 calendar. Since joining in 2026, he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.
Charles Leclerc told Ferrari his car had started braking on its own during the Singapore Grand Prix. On the next lap he warned the team that if it happened again, it could put him in the wall.
The fault came to light through an untelevised Ferrari team radio, with Leclerc flagging an issue at Turn 13 to his race engineer Bryan Bozzi on Lap 46.
With the Monegasque's SF26 appearing to slow unusually on the exit of Turn 13, a confused Leclerc said to Bozzi: "What the **** happened? The car started to brake on its own!" Bozzi replied with the message to "keep pushing" and added: "I'll try and fix it soon."
Leclerc feared a crash at a faster corner
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While Turn 13 is the slowest corner on the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Leclerc seemed worried about what would happen if the fault came back somewhere quicker. A lap later, he said: “If this happens again, and I have no control of the car, I put it in the wall."
However, Bozzi assured his driver the issue would not crop up again. "It was a single case, should not happen, I'll come back to you," he replied.
Two laps later, Bozzi ordered a settings change that appeared to solve Leclerc's mysterious issue, telling his driver: "We need white 10 position two, white 10 position two to help with the issue you had before."
Leclerc did not report the problem again during the Singapore GP, nor did his teammate Lewis Hamilton - although the seven-time world champion had plenty to be concerned about, as he dropped from his P3 starting position to sixth amid a strategy blunder.
Leclerc went on to finish P2, 7.3 seconds behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen, while Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli secured the final podium position to set up the possibility of a historic F1 title win at the next race in Austin.
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Leclerc takes swipe at Sergio Perez
Leclerc's strange braking complaints were not the only team radio messages to go unnoticed in Singapore. The Ferrari driver aimed a sarcastic dig at Sergio Perez after the Cadillac driver delayed his pursuit of Verstappen during the closing stages.
Radio exchanges reveal how Perez was warned about the approaching Ferrari before eventually allowing Leclerc through on Lap 57. The delay prompted Leclerc to reference Perez’s four seasons alongside Verstappen at Red Bull, asking: “Is Perez still driving for Red Bull?”
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