Monaco live updates: Charles Leclerc brushes the barrier as Ferrari pushes hard in Monte Carlo. Charles Leclerc had a close call on lap 60 of the Monaco Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc had a major scare during the closing stages of the Monaco Grand Prix, as the Ferrari driver brushed the barrier while pushing hard on lap 60 of 78.

The incident happened at the exit of the Nouvelle Chicane, one of the most demanding sections of the Monte Carlo street circuit. Leclerc appeared to be right on the limit as he tried to extract everything from his Ferrari, but he came dangerously close to turning a small mistake into a costly moment.

Charles Leclerc escapes damage after Monaco barrier touch

Leclerc kissed the barrier on exit, but the contact did not appear heavy enough to cause immediate serious damage. Around Monaco, however, even the smallest misjudgement can have major consequences, especially when drivers are running so close to the walls for almost the entire lap.

The Ferrari driver was clearly pushing aggressively at that stage of the race, with every tenth of a second potentially proving important. The Nouvelle Chicane is a particularly tricky area because drivers arrive at high speed from the tunnel before braking heavily and trying to get back on the power as early as possible.

Had the Monegasque hit the wall with slightly more force, Ferrari could have been facing front-wing damage, suspension issues or even a race-ending problem. Instead, the Monegasque driver managed to continue, avoiding what could have become a painful setback in front of his home crowd.

A reminder of Monaco’s tiny margin for error

The moment underlined once again why the Monaco Grand Prix remains one of the most unforgiving races on the Formula 1 calendar. There is no room to run wide, no escape area to save a mistake, and no second chance when a driver gets too greedy with the barriers.

For the 28-year-old, the brush with the wall showed both his commitment and the risk involved in chasing performance around Monte Carlo. Ferrari needed him to keep applying pressure, but the incident was also a warning that one extra centimetre could have changed the outcome of his race completely.

Leclerc survived the scare, but it was one of those classic Monaco moments where the difference between bravery and disaster was almost invisible.