Charles Leclerc experienced a worrying moment during the Singapore Grand Prix when his Ferrari suddenly began braking by itself at Turn 13 on lap 46. The Monegasque immediately warned race engineer Bryan Bozzi that a repeat of the problem could send him into the wall.
The incident emerged from an analysis of Ferrari’s team radio and adds to a Singapore weekend in which Formula 1 encountered several software-related complications. Leclerc was able to continue racing, while his engineer initially described the episode as isolated before providing a steering-wheel setting intended to resolve the problem.
Formula 1 software problems continue in Singapore
Software has become an increasingly prominent factor in modern Formula 1, and recent races have produced several unusual situations. In Malaysia, the wet-track starting procedure behind the Safety Car was abandoned after several cars shut down because their software placed the power units into protection mode as speeds became too low.
Singapore then produced further complications. The most concerning software-related incident earlier in the weekend came during SQ1, when approximately half of the cars on track had Overtake Mode available because of an error.
Ferrari’s broader difficulties over the Marina Bay weekend can be explored in the technical analysis of the SF-26 at the Singapore Grand Prix, which examines the car’s performance and the strategic issues encountered during the race.
Charles Leclerc reports car braking by itself at Turn 13
Another significant problem became apparent through Charles Leclerc’s radio communications during the Grand Prix. On lap 46, as he negotiated Turn 13, the slowest corner on the circuit, the Ferrari driver suddenly reported unexpected braking intervention.
“What the hell happened? The car started braking by itself. If it happens again, I risk ending up in the wall,” Charles Leclerc told the team.
The message reflected how seriously the Monegasque viewed the incident, particularly at a street circuit where barriers leave little margin for an unexpected change in the car’s behaviour. The moment came during a weekend in which Ferrari had already been dealing with several performance and strategic challenges at Marina Bay.
Bryan Bozzi gives Charles Leclerc a steering-wheel fix
Race engineer Bryan Bozzi immediately reassured his driver and began working on a solution. “Keep pushing, I’ll try to solve the problem as soon as possible. It was an isolated case, it shouldn’t happen again, I’ll get back to you,” he replied.
Two laps later, Bryan Bozzi returned with a specific instruction for Charles Leclerc to enter on the steering wheel. “We need white 10 position two, white 10 position two, to solve the problem you had earlier,” the engineer told him.
The exchange showed Ferrari reacting quickly to the unexpected behaviour and attempting to address it through a steering-wheel setting while Leclerc remained on track. The full context of his Singapore weekend, including the car’s strengths and limitations, can also be followed through ScuderiaFans’ Charles Leclerc coverage.
The episode adds another technical talking point to an already eventful Singapore Grand Prix weekend, with software behaviour again becoming part of the Formula 1 conversation after the issues previously seen in Malaysia and during Sprint Qualifying at Marina Bay.
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