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Charles Leclerc explains why comparisons to Gilles Villeneuve are misplaced after George Russell incident

Originally posted on HITC | By Kyle Archer | Last updated Sep 5, 2025 8:46 AM ET

Charles Leclerc’s streak of 31 consecutive finishes came to an end at the Dutch Grand Prix, a race that also featured a controversial moment with Mercedes’ George Russell.

Ferrari’s day took another hit later on Lap 53 of 72 when Andrea Kimi Antonelli collided with Leclerc at Turn 3. The Italian rookie had misjudged a move at Hugenholtzbocht while the two were battling for seventh.

The incident marked Leclerc’s first retirement since the Canadian Grand Prix, where an engine failure forced him out. Before Sunday’s crash, he’d already been involved in a separate clash with Russell on Lap 32 at Turn 12.

The contact left Russell nursing damage to his W16, costing him about a second per lap. Leclerc had pulled off an aggressive move for fifth place, diving late around the outside at T11 and then taking the inside line into T12.

Charles Leclerc dismisses Valentino Rossi comparisons after Dutch GP move on George Russell

Leclerc’s move was met with frustration from Russell, who pointed out that the Ferrari driver never had his front wheels alongside him. The Monegasque even appeared to have all four wheels off the track as he rode the kerb. Despite this, Leclerc wasn’t penalised for the overtake.

Following a thorough review, the FIA decided against penalising Leclerc for his overtake on Russell in the Dutch GP. The incident even led some to draw comparisons between Leclerc and legendary figures like Gilles Villeneuve and seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi.

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But Leclerc feels it’s a stretch to compare his move on Russell to Rossi’s iconic pass on Casey Stoner at Laguna Seca during the 2008 MotoGP US Grand Prix. He also noted that direct comparisons to Villeneuve don’t hold up because they raced in completely different eras.

Speaking to Sky Italia, Leclerc said: “Just being compared to Vale Rossi and Gilles Villeneuve is special, but these are different times. They took more risks. Anyway, I had fun.”

George Russell says he has no doubt Charles Leclerc went off track during their Zandvoort clash

Russell is convinced that Leclerc left the track during the overtake, which affected the Mercedes driver’s race before retirements for Antonelli, Leclerc and McLaren driver Lando Norris helped him climb to fourth. However, FIA stewards later described the footage as “inconclusive”.

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The contact left damage on the left-rear of Russell’s W16, preventing him from staying close to Leclerc after their Lap 32 incident. By Lap 41, he was trailing by over three and a half seconds, prompting Mercedes to instruct him to swap places with Antonelli.

Leclerc pitted on Lap 52 of the Dutch GP to defend against an undercut attempt by Mercedes for Antonelli. Although he did not want to pit then, it returned him to the track just ahead of Antonelli before their crash.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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