MONACO – Two different scenes unfolded at Circuit de Monaco on Sunday afternoon, one filled with jubilation and one filled with frustration.Ferrari entered the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix weekend with plenty of hope. Mercedes had dominated the season to date, taking every grand prix pole position and victory. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have taken two podium finishes each across those opening five races, keeping Ferrari ahead in the battle for second place in the constructors’ championship.To date, no one has posed a notable threat to unseat Mercedes for the top step of the podium. Monaco could have changed that.Engine power doesn’t make a huge difference here on France’s Mediterranean coast, and the track layout goes more in Ferrari’s favor. Mercedes is strong in the straights, which there are very few of at Monaco, while Ferrari has an edge when exiting slow-speed corners. As Hamilton pointed out at the previous race in Canada, “If you take away the power deficit, we’re in the fight with these guys.”Practice seemed to support that theory, with the Ferrari duo topping the first and second sessions while rounding out the top three behind Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes in third practice. But on race day, only Hamilton stood on the podium, celebrating a second consecutive second-place finish.Meanwhile, Leclerc was left fuming as he crashed out of a race where he often flirts with magic or misery.Some may think there’s a feeling of ‘What if?’ after Monaco, but Ferrari maximized its weekend, Hamilton pushing to the limit, and confidence was clearly evident. Yet, it wasn’t enough. So, where does the Italian team go from here, with 16 races of the season still remaining?For Leclerc, that answer is simpler — he needs to change his brake configuration and go from there.With 10 laps to go yesterday, the Monégasque driver found himself in the barriers at the final corner. The grid was preparing to restart the race, following Lance Stroll’s crash at the same turn, and Leclerc’s onboards showed him turning the wheel, speed relatively unchanged, before he bumped into the barrier.The Ferrari driver smacked his wheel a few times before putting his hands on his helmet. He said on the radio at one point, “Honestly, I’m not even going to take the f–––ing blame. These f–––ing brakes!”