Leclerc ‘not looking forward’ to beating Schumacher’s Ferrari record

For most Ferrari drivers, merely being mentioned in the same breath as the great Michael Schumacher would be enough to cement a legacy. For Charles Leclerc, however, it barely earns a shrug.

The Monegasque star is quietly charging toward one of the most enduring milestones in Ferrari’s modern Formula 1 history.

Schumacher, the architect of the Italian outfit’s golden era, made 180 race starts for the Scuderia between 1996 and 2006 – a staggering number in an era when seasons were significantly shorter than today’s sprawling calendars.

Leclerc, now deeply embedded in Ferrari’s long-term future, has already reached 154 starts in red. With his contract expected to keep him in Maranello through at least 2029, surpassing Schumacher’s total sometime during the 2027 season appears almost inevitable.

Yet when the statistic was raised, Leclerc’s reaction was anything but celebratory.

“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.

There was admiration in his voice – but not obsession. Because while the numbers may place him on course to eclipse one Ferrari icon, Leclerc made it abundantly clear that longevity alone means little without the prize that defines greatness at Maranello.

“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,” he added.

“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.”

Ferrari’s bigger question

That statement cuts to the heart of Leclerc’s Ferrari journey. Since arriving at the Scuderia in 2019, the 28-year-old has become the emotional centerpiece of Ferrari’s rebuild – adored by the Tifosi, relentlessly fast over one lap, and often burdened with carrying the expectations of Formula 1’s most demanding team.

But despite the flashes of brilliance, the one achievement that matters most remains painfully absent: a drivers’ championship. And therein lies the uncomfortable tension surrounding his looming Schumacher milestone.

Because Ferrari history remembers champions first.

Schumacher delivered five world titles in red and helped transform Ferrari into the dominant force of the early 2000s. Leclerc, by contrast, risks entering a very different category altogether – potentially becoming Ferrari’s longest-serving modern driver without winning a championship.

Team principal Fred Vasseur insists neither he nor Leclerc are interested in statistical nostalgia while there is work still to do.

“Charles is in the team for ages, he was into the Academy before, to go to Sauber and to come back to Ferrari,” commented the Frenchman.

“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.”

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That focus has become increasingly urgent.

Ferrari’s modern project has effectively been built around Leclerc’s prime years, and while his loyalty has never seriously wavered, Formula 1 history is littered with elite drivers who ran out of time waiting for Ferrari to return to the summit.

For now, Leclerc continues to edge closer to Schumacher’s record with every race weekend. But inside Ferrari, nobody truly cares how many starts he makes if the final column — championships — stays empty.

And judging by Leclerc’s own words, neither does he.

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