Ferrari’s brake issues in Singapore exposed: what’s really affecting driver confidence. Former HAAS team principal Günther Steiner reveals that Ferrari’s brake issues in Singapore were likely due to cooling problem.

Former HAAS team principal Günther Steiner has spoken again about Ferrari’s brake problems encountered during the most recent Formula 1 race in Singapore. During the Grand Prix, Ferrari faced a significant brake issue that affected both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton from the very first laps. The drivers were repeatedly instructed to use lift-and-coast techniques to prevent excessive overheating. However, this strategy compromised their entire race. Despite all precautions, Lewis Hamilton finished the Grand Prix more as a passenger in his car than as an active contender. But why has Ferrari had to deal with this issue from Australia to Singapore? Günther Steiner attempted to provide an explanation.

The real Ferrari problem undermining driver confidence

Günther Steiner discussed Ferrari’s difficulties on the podcast The Red Flags, highlighting how the Singapore race emphasized these problems. According to Günther Steiner, the issue was not related to the brake supplier but rather to the cooling system. He explained: “I don’t know exactly what happened. Usually, what happens — and I don’t want to state it as a fact — is that they simply didn’t cool the brakes enough in Singapore, you see? You can adjust the cooling, the amount of air directed to the brakes. So it has nothing to do with the brake supplier. I think in Singapore it was more a cooling issue than a problem with the brakes themselves.”

Lewis Hamilton had acknowledged from the start that he needed time to adapt to the new SF-25 braking system, as it differs from what he used in Mercedes. For Günther Steiner, this is primarily a matter of getting used to the brakes, but it can have a profound impact on performance and driver confidence: “Lewis [Hamilton] is not accustomed to those brakes; he is used to something else and cannot adapt. For a driver, brakes are the part of the car that builds confidence. It’s logical: if you don’t know how effective your brakes are, you can’t push to the limit because you don’t know what to expect. And this can seriously undermine confidence.”

Günther Steiner didn’t mince words, adding: “There’s always something, you see? And that’s why they haven’t won a championship in a while. As you said, the car is quite good, it’s not bad… but there’s always something that goes wrong.”