Charles Leclerc responds to George Russell: “He took the corner as if I wasn’t there” | F1 Dutch GP. Charles Leclerc’s Dutch GP ended in retirement after contact with Antonelli, but he also criticised Russell for their clash.

Charles Leclerc: “Russell took the corner as if I wasn’t there. Kimi? His mistake is not a rookie error”

Charles Leclerc’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort quickly turned into one to forget. The Ferrari driver reflected on two key incidents involving Mercedes rivals George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, leaving him frustrated with how his weekend ended.

Charles Leclerc, a Dutch GP to forget

The collision with Andrea Kimi Antonelli brought Leclerc’s race to a premature end, capping off a difficult Sunday for the Monegasque driver. Starting from sixth on the grid, he immediately passed George Russell for fifth place but then spent most of the race stuck behind Isack Hadjar’s Racing Bulls. His afternoon ended when Kimi Antonelli clipped his Ferrari, with the young Italian later judged at fault. Antonelli even went to the Ferrari garage after the race to apologise for the incident.

“Yes, it was quite a big crash,” said Leclerc after the race, speaking to several outlets including ScuderiaFans.com. “I believe it was a mistake from Kimi. On a track like this you always need to be a bit aggressive if you want to overtake, but in this case maybe he pushed a little too much. He went for the inside, touched my left rear tyre and that ended my race. It’s very disappointing. A rookie error? No, I wouldn’t call it a rookie mistake, it’s just one of those errors that can happen in your first season or in your fifth year in Formula 1.”

Charles Leclerc’s take on the clash with Russell

Much of the post-race discussion also centred on Leclerc’s controversial overtake on Russell. The Ferrari driver put his wheels off track at Turn 11 to reclaim position after the Safety Car deployed for Hamilton’s accident. “I was aggressive, but we were fighting for position on track and we are also fighting Mercedes for both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships, so I will always be aggressive in these situations. It was on the limit and I knew I wouldn’t have many more opportunities after that. He defended on the inside and I went around the outside, which I don’t think he expected me to do. Then he took the next corner as if I wasn’t there, so we touched. It would have been better to have a decision made live by the stewards, but I understand that sometimes those calls are not taken immediately.”

Ferrari strategy not to blame, says Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc also addressed Ferrari’s strategic choices. During the race he had described the pit stop to cover Antonelli’s undercut as “unnecessary” over team radio, but after the race he softened his stance. “The tyres weren’t in bad shape, but I guess the team saw that Kimi’s out-lap was very strong and so they decided to call me in, thinking he would overtake me otherwise. In the end, I was frustrated by how things turned out, but I don’t think strategy is the main point here. I don’t think the decision was wrong, but clearly the only way to know would have been to finish the race. Unfortunately we didn’t, because of the incident, and now it’s hard to say.”

As for positives, Charles Leclerc struggled to find many: “Positives from this weekend? Well, you can always find some positives in every situation, but honestly I’d call this a very negative weekend. We struggled right from the first free practice sessions, even if the race pace was a bit better. But especially after the summer break, having a Friday like the one we had is something we simply cannot afford. It’s something that negatively impacted the rest of the weekend,” the Ferrari driver concluded.