Charles Leclerc is on the verge of breaking a record set by Ferrari Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher.
Schumacher raced for Ferrari between 1996 and 2006, winning six of his seven world championships with the Scuderia during its most dominant spell in the sport.
The German contested an astonishing 180 race starts for Ferrari during his ten year stint, during seasons that averaged 16 to 17 races.
Fast forward to 2026, and Leclerc’s race count for Ferrari stands at 154, just 26 shy of Schumacher’s tally.
The Monegasque is tied to a multi-yeaer deal with Ferrari, rumoured to be locked into his contract until the end of 2029, therefore breaking Schumacher’s record in 2027.
Leclerc admitted mixed feelings when the stat was put to him.
“It’s strange. I still feel very young, and I remember my first year at Ferrari just like yesterday. But it’s special,” Leclerc said.
“But I wouldn’t love to be remembered as the most experienced driver of Ferrari. I would love to be remembered as a world champion for Ferrari, and this is still to be done.
“That’s where my focus is at. I didn’t really know about this stat, actually. I’m not really looking forward to becoming the first, but I just want to win a world championship.
“That’s what I’m trying and working for every day, and I hope that this day will come.”
Fred Vasseur backs Charles Leclerc
Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur joined Leclerc in his assessment that the performance of Ferrari is what he and his drivers will be measured on.
“Charles is in the team for ages, he was into the Academy before, to go to Sauber and to come back to Ferrari.
“He’s part of the performance for sure as a driver but also of the development, of the integrity of the team and the team spirit.
“I’m not a big fan of statistics and I don’t know when he will be the number one or the number two, and we are much more focused on performance, short-term performance, than about statistic for 2027 or whatever.”
Leclerc is very much a part of modern-day Ferrari and integral to the Scuderia’s vision. A stat he will want to avoid is being the team’s longest-serving driver without a title.
Discussion about this post