George Russell inadvertently exposed Charles Leclerc as being a Harry Potter superfan ahead of this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.

The British driver was attending a media event, alongside other F1 stars like Leclerc and Max Verstappen, when he pulled up a video from 12 years ago.

Sheepishly turning the camera towards the crowd, Russell explained the video was from his go-karting days when he and Leclerc were in their teens.

The discussion had sparked on the back of a question about the drivers’ favourite movies, with Leclerc admitting his was Harry Potter.

The 26-year-old said: “Actually Harry Potter, it was probably my favourite growing up and it remains one of my favourite movies.

“I knew the lines, when I was 10 years old… everyone was telling me I was looking like Harry Potter as well.”

This was when Russell seized his opportunity to get involved, with the Mercedes man replying: “One of the first videos I have on my phone is of Charles in 2012.

“It was in Ortona and you put the broomstick between your legs and you were doing the wizard [impression].”

The video shows Leclerc pretending to be a wizard, which sparked a hilarious reaction from the rest of the star-studded panel.

Unlike Verstappen and Co., Leclerc was unable to see the funny side, with the Ferrari driver responding by saying: “Keep that video to yourself.”

Understandably, social media was desperate to lay eyes on the full clip, with Russell’s constructor even taking to X to ask their star man for the video.

The official Mercedes account said: "Sorry @Charles_Leclerc, but we’re gonna need to see that video @GeorgeRussell63.”

It comes ahead of Leclerc’s home GP, with the Monegasque driver entering the weekend second in the Drivers’ Championship standings.

Leclerc hasn’t won a GP in almost two years, when he finished over one second quicker than Verstappen at the 2022 race in Austria.

He’ll be keen to make amends on the streets of Monaco this weekend but will face stiff competition from Drivers’ Championship leader Verstappen, who has won four out of the six races this season.

What’s more, the in-form Lando Norris is also expected to compete, with the Brit entering the Monaco GP on the back of three consecutive podium finishes.

Norris waltzed to victory at the Miami GP earlier this month - a race that was proceeded and followed by two second-placed finishes.

Practice is set to get underway on Friday, with qualifying on Saturday and the showpiece event following on Sunday.