Young Dutch Karter’s Priceless Reaction to Meeting Charles Leclerc Goes Viral After Zandvoort Moment

Dutch karter Cesc Pieterse got the opportunity to share stage with his F1 idol Charles Leclerc and he took it as long lost buddies.

The promoters of Dutch GP together with F1 got three Dutch karters to present the Top 3 with their trophies post the sprint race on Saturday at Circuit Zandvoort. It was not the first time that promoters roped in karters to present sprint race trophies, as the same happened during the British GP weekend.

What happened

A young karter then got famous for his interaction with McLaren’s Lando Norris. Likewise, the F1 Dutch GP saw Cesc Pieterse take the moment to make a memory with his idol Leclerc after the sprint race. The Monegasque finished second behind Mercedes’ George Russell.

He passed McLaren’s Lando Norris to second, much to the delight of Pieterse, who was waiting in parc ferme for the moment. Once the trophies were presented, the youngster quickly put his arm around the Ferrari driver’s shoulders – like a long lost buddy clicking a picture together.

Why he did it

It certainly caught the eyes of the fans and on one of the Instagram posts, Pieterse commented, “I just had to, I mean its Leclerc.” The Dutch karter was selected by Royal Dutch Automobile Club, along with Lieke van Boekel, who presented the winner Russell, and Dean Hoogendoorn, to Norris.

Interestingly, Hoogendoorn is no stranger to F1 as he is currently part of the Williams Driver Academy. Pieterse, meanwhile, races under his own banner ‘Cesc Pieterse Racing’, in the IAME Euro Series – X30 Junior category.

Young karter shares his story

“What a weekend,” he wrote.  “Wow, I could have never even dreamed about all the stuff i have walked through today! An obvious massive thanks to everyone making this possible in the last Dutch GP. After the sprint race of the Dutch Grand Prix, I had the possibility to not only meet but even hand out the trophy to my idol Charles Leclerc and it was a dream come true!

“Umbelievably grateful for the opportunity [from] KNAF and the most warm welcome possible F1. I also appreciate all the love from the videos yall made! Have you not seen them? Check my instagram and tiktok reposts. It was a pleasure to meet you van Boekel and Hoogendoorn A.K.A the other two talents that I shared the stage with.”