Charles Leclerc will one day look back on the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix with a lot of fondness despite his initial disappointment having missed out on victory to Lando Norris.
Leclerc achieved Ferrari’s best points finish of the season by converting his front row start into second place behind his McLaren rival.
The 27-year-old driver has had some seriously bad luck in the past at the Monaco Grand Prix, missing out on plenty of opportunities to secure brilliant results through no fault of his own.
It’s an incredibly difficult circuit to get right for any driver, with any mistake immediately punished by the barriers on either side of the track.
| RANK | DRIVER | TEAM | POINTS |
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 25 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 18 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 15 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 12 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 10 |
| 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | 8 |
| 7 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 6 |
| 8 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 4 |
| 9 | Alex Albon | Williams | 2 |
| 10 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1 |
Leclerc topped all three practice sessions leading into qualifying, benefiting from Ferrari being able to run their cars much lower than at previous races due to the lack of high-speed corners.
Ferrari may have turned up their engines in Monaco to deliver a better result but still relied on Leclerc’s skill to deliver during Q3, with Lewis Hamilton unable to match his pace.
David Croft has now shared what Leclerc told him in the build-up to the race and why he doesn’t feel he can believe what the Ferrari star says anymore going forward.
It turns out the Monegasque driver is much more pessimistic than Croft originally expected.
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David Croft shares pre-Monaco Grand Prix chat details with Ferrari star Charles Leclerc
Croft was speaking on The F1 Show Podcast about Leclerc’s performance in Monaco.
He explained: “I’m never going to believe a word Charles Leclerc says to me ever again.
“I saw him on Wednesday night and we said goodbye to each other. I said, ‘So, looking forward to the race, calling you home again for a win.’
“That’s not going to happen, he said, not a chance. We’re rubbish in slow-speed corners. No, don’t go practising me winning.
“And then he went and kind of dominated all the practice sessions.
“But I thought McLaren played a blinder with a qualifying strategy. It really got the drivers dialled in for where they needed to be and Lando took advantage.”
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Charles Leclerc urged to leave Ferrari by former F1 team principal to win a world championship
After eight Grand Prix weekends, Leclerc sits fifth in the drivers’ championship on 79 points, 16 clear of Hamilton.
However, Oscar Piastri has more than doubled his tally already at this stage of the campaign and there’s little sign of a turnaround from Ferrari that will suddenly see them leap above McLaren.
Guenther Steiner has told Leclerc to leave Ferrari if he wants to become a Formula 1 world champion.
He’s now in his seventh season with the team and has never been in a position to mount a serious title challenge.
| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Oscar Piastri |
161 |
| 2 |
Lando Norris |
158 |
| 3 |
Max Verstappen |
136 |
| 4 |
George Russell |
99 |
| 5 |
Charles Leclerc |
79 |
| 6 |
Lewis Hamilton |
63 |
| 7 |
Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
48 |
| 8 |
Alexander Albon |
42 |
| 9 |
Esteban Ocon |
20 |
| 10 |
Isack Hadjar |
15 |
In 2022, Leclerc spent part of the season as Max Verstappen’s closest rival before a combination of a lack of competitiveness, mistakes on track and strategy errors saw him fall away.
Leclerc was arguably the most in-form driver on the grid at the end of 2024 and would have been desperate to carry that form into this season.
Unfortunately, he’s had to settle for decent but unspectacular results throughout the campaign, which might leave him wondering whether he’s at the right team to fulfil his Formula 1 ambitions.
