F1 star's 'thrilling' overtake compared with famous Valentino Rossi moment

Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Austria, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

Racing Superstars

F1 star's 'thrilling' overtake compared with famous Valentino Rossi moment

Charles Leclerc produced a moment of magic in Zandvoort

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 3 September 2025 13:52

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Charles Leclerc's stunning overtake on George Russell at the Dutch Grand Prix has been compared to racing legend Valentino Rossi.

Leclerc produced the moment of magic on lap 32, moving up into the top five at the expense of Russell, with the Brit caught off guard by what was a fantastic move around the outside.

Unfortunately for Leclerc, his race would end a few laps later after a collision with the other Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, which meant that the Monegasque star left Zandvoort without a single point.

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And it was that incident that stopped Gazzetta from giving Leclerc 10/10 in their post-race report cards, instead giving him a 6.5/10, but providing the Ferrari star with a glowing reference.

"As usual, between the safety car after the pit stop and Antonelli's risky manoeuvre, bad luck would deserve a much higher score, the maximum," they said. "But he always adds something to say that no, it's not fair."

Then, comparing Leclerc to Italian MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, the above publication said: "The overtaking manoeuvre on Russell was in Valentino style exactly ten years ago, a couple of hundred kilometres north of here, in Assen. Going off the track, but what a thrill."

The move they were referring to, of course, was the nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing world champion's legendary overtake around the outside of Marc Marquez at the 2015 Dutch GP on the last lap at Assen.

Leclerc's glowing reference despite DNF

High praise indeed for Leclerc following the Dutch GP, and he was on for another positive result before his crash.

Ferrari ended up scoring zero points at Zandvoort, with Lewis Hamilton also crashing out, allowing Mercedes to close the gap to the Scuderia in the battle for second in the constructors' championship to just 12 points.

While Ferrari have really struggled in 2025, Leclerc's performances have often been praised, with the Monegasque driver sat 42 points ahead of his seven-time champion team-mate, and having outqualified him on 11 occasions out of 15.

Leclerc has also secured five podiums in 2025, and even took pole position at the Hungarian GP.

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Ferrari Charles Leclerc Dutch Grand Prix Valentino Rossi