Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Charles Leclerc Screams in Frustration After Losing Monaco Pole to Lando Norris

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Samriddhi Jaiswal | Last updated May 24, 2025 1:39 PM ET

Charles Leclerc was left screaming in frustration after losing out on pole position at the Monaco GP — and his reaction, both on the radio and after stepping out of the car, revealed just how much it stung.

The Ferrari driver looked poised to take P1 in front of his home crowd, but a stunning late effort from Lando Norris saw the McLaren star steal pole by just 0.109s with a lap of 1:09.954.

As soon as Leclerc saw the result, his voice exploded over team radio: “NOOOOOO. [Expletive]!”

It was a brutal end to what had been a promising session. While Leclerc was visibly crushed, he was composed in his post-session interviews — even if the frustrations still showed through.

“There’s always something more to be done, but at the end of the day, this was the best we could do,” Leclerc said.

“I think the lap was really good. The first lap was a bit of a shame because that gives you a bit more confidence for the second run when you have a first good lap. I couldn’t have that, I had sector two traffic. But it’s the way it. Just obviously very frustrated,” he added.

charles face says it all pic.twitter.com/zDsMxaEXxl
— best of charles leclerc (@leclercphotos) May 24, 2025

Leclerc admitted that Ferrari hasn’t had a car capable of fighting pole most weekends this year, which made the Monaco near-miss harder to swallow. Still, he took pride in how close he came, saying, “At the end of the day, it’s not that bad.”

It may not be a pole, but in Monaco, anything can happen. And with Leclerc starting on the front row, the fight for Sunday is far from over.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: