Brawn believes Leclerc went "too far" in Monaco GP comeback attempt
F1 News
- Bobby Vincent
Ross Brawn believes Charles Leclerc's desperation was clear to see in his attempt to try and move up the grid from P15 on Sunday, and it eventually led to a race-ending misjudgement from the Ferrari driver in his home-race.
Leclerc started from down in 15th-place after a misjudgement from the Italian side in the final stages of Q1. The Monegasque driver then tried passing Nico Hulkenberg, having already forced his way up to P12, but the gap was too narrow and his right rear tyre clipped the barrier before puncturing.
"Charles went too far and paid a high price for his impetuousness," Brawn said on Leclerc. "His reaction was understandable, however. It's him home-race and his first attempt at it with a front-running team. It was supposed to be a special moment but it ended only in disappointment."
Sebastian Vettel scored Ferrari's best result of the 2019 season so far - splitting the two Mercedes' - finishing in P2. Despite this, Brawn believes Vettel's result flattered Ferrari on a weekend where they were largely out-performed by Red Bull, as well as Mercedes.
"It was a difficult weekend for Ferrari, although it ended with their best result of the year," Brawn said. "Vettel's second-place came at the end of a race in which he didn't play a key role, sitting behind Max (Verstappen) throughout but unable to really worry the Dutchman.
"It reflected a weekend during which the Scuderia was the third strongest team. That was predictable given what we saw in Barcelona, where the car struggled, especially in the third sector of that track.
"The season seems to be getting away from the Maranello team, but it's not the time to give up and it must learn from its mistakes if it wants to move forward."