Formula 1 fans have been losing it over Charles Leclerc’s gift to George Russell for the championship’s Secret Santa.

The Monegasque driver decided to frame a photo of his overtake of Russell at the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix, which was a point of contention for the British driver. As the Ferrari driver attacked Russell on the outside of Turn 11 at a safety car restart during the race at Zandvoort, he appeared to leave the track on the outside of Turn 12 before rejoining ahead of Russell.

“He was off the track, surely?” Russell said over team radio as Leclerc said to his team: “Turn 11, 12, he doesn’t leave a space. He cannot complain.”

The stewards investigated the move, and both drivers were summoned after the race. The stewards later noted that “both drivers felt that this was a racing incident and that there should be no further consequence to either driver for the incident”, which they agreed with.

“Naughty, naughty, naughty,” Russell said with a smile as he pulled back the bubble wrap to reveal the photo. “Let’s see part two, shall we?” he added as he uncovered the electric photo frame showing a slow-motion version of the overtake.

“Oh, look at that! That is so kind of him,” he added, with a hint of sarcasm, before adding: “He can overtake illegally, so that’s all he’s got in the locker. Bashing people off the track. I’m lost for words actually, I’m lost for words.”

 

The moment between Leclerc and Russell quickly became a hot topic in the comments with reactions from fans flooding in. “Charles well and truly understood the assignment. He has been on a mission to ragebait Russell all year,” one wrote, while another added: “Charles’ gift is wild.”

“Leclerc with the master ragebait,” someone else commented, with another adding: “George was livid, that’s peak British anger.”

“Charles pulling Russell’s leg and getting him very angry was the best gift,” wrote another fan.

Another added: “Charles has a diabolical sense of humour.”

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