Charles Leclerc admits he isn’t looking forward to breaking one of Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari records

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Charles Leclerc says he’s “not looking forward” to surpassing Michael Schumacher as the Ferrari driver with the most Grand Prix starts, mainly because he hasn’t won a Formula 1 title yet.

The 28-year-old moved up to second on the all-time list during the Miami Grand Prix and has now made 154 appearances for Scuderia Ferrari. He first joined the team in 2019, replacing Kimi Raikkonen for what was only his second season in Formula 1.

Schumacher sits at the top of that list, having started 180 races for Ferrari between 1996 and 2006. And unlike Leclerc, Schumacher also won five straight titles with Ferrari from 2000 to 2004.

Leclerc had already shown plenty of potential before joining Ferrari. The Monegasque joined from Sauber after coming through the team’s Driver Academy and winning both GP3 and F2 titles as a rookie.

Charles Leclerc is not ‘looking forward’ to beating Michael Schumacher’s record

Leclerc says it feels “strange” to have made so many starts for Ferrari and he’s clear that breaking Schumacher’s record isn’t a milestone he wants to be defined by. His focus remains on delivering a world championship for the Scuderia, rather than simply adding more races to his tally.

Speaking to RacingNews365, Leclerc reflected: “It’s strange. I still feel very young, and I remember my first year at Ferrari just like yesterday. But it’s special.”

He continued: “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.”