There’s one person that every driver who ever steps into a Ferrari Formula 1 car aspires to emulate: Michael Schumacher.
Michael Schumacher arrived at Ferrari in 1996 as a two-time world champion after leading Benetton to what turned out to be their only drivers’ championship in F1.
It took several seasons, and Schumacher had a build up a team on extremely talented people around him, but at the turn of the 21st century, the German went on an unprecedented run of title wins.
Between 2000 and 2004, Schumacher was unstoppable, and only Fernando Alonso in Benetton’s success Renault could stop him.
Since Schumacher left Ferrari at the end of the 2006 season, only Kimi Raikkonen has managed to emulate his achievement on winning a championship for the Scuderia.
Lewis Hamilton has joined Ferrari this year to try and break Schumacher’s record of seven championships, but at the start of 2025, it’s his teammate Charles Leclerc that looks more likely to end that drought.
Those chances look incredibly slim given how Ferrari have started this campaign, but the Monegasque is still impressing people in the paddock, including Martin Brundle, with his performances.
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Martin Brundle makes Michael Schumacher comparison to Charles Leclerc after the Chinese Grand Prix
Brundle was interviewing Leclerc ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sky Sports F1 (20/4 4:53 pm) and brought up what happened during the race in Shanghai.
Leclerc broke his front wing in a collision with Hamilton on the opening lap, but still managed to outpace his teammate and finish ahead of him, before both drivers were disqualified.
Brundle told him, “It was an extraordinary drive you put in during the Grand Prix in China, when you had the front wing hanging off.
“It was just getting your head down, that was very Michael Schumacher-like if I may say, of just driving around a problem and still having great pace.”
| RANK | DRIVER | TEAM | PTS |
| 1 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 25 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 18 |
| 3 | George Russell | Mercedes | 15 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 12 |
| 5 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 10 |
| 6 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 8 |
| 7 | Alex Albon | Williams | 6 |
| 8 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 4 |
| 9 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 2 |
| 10 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1 |
Leclerc replied, “Thank you so much for that, it means a lot. But actually, I was also very surprised because I just wanted to do one or two laps to see if I could drive around that.
“I think now we have a lot of buttons on the steering wheel, so I did everything I could to try and give rotation to the car because without the front wing, it was impossible.
“But, I kind of managed that and I was very surprised that there was so much pace inside the car, so that was a really good race.
“And I was proud that we managed to bring back…well actually, and then I forgot what happened next! So we didn’t bring back some points, but I was happy with the race in itself.”
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Charles Leclerc and Michael Schumacher are Ferrari’s two fastest drivers at one iconic track
Leclerc is only a couple of seasons away from overtaking Schumacher as the driver with the most race starts for Ferrari in Formula 1.
However, his statistics are a long way off being able to match the German unless he starts winning relentlessly.
One track that both drivers will know very well is Ferrari’s test circuit at Fiorano.
Leclerc and Schumacher have the fastest times in Fiorano history in a Formula 1 car, although the limitations of testing now mean that the Monegasque is unlikely to be spending too much time on the circuit between now and the end of the season.
The next time he might have a chance to break Schumacher’s lap record may be in the 2026 car, although the signs aren’t looking positive that it’ll be quicker than this year’s machines.
