Fernando Alonso is likely to shatter a long-standing historic F1 record, which Michael Schumacher still holds in this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Double world champion Fernando Alonso will compete in his 342nd Grand Prix in Baku, putting him eight races short of Kimi Raikkonen’s F1 record of 350 starts, which the Spaniard could overtake by the conclusion of the current season.
However, it will be 21 years, three months, and eight days after Alonso made his Formula One debut, which took place at the Australian Grand Prix in 2001. That unrivalled longevity will surpass Schumacher’s existing record of 21 years and three months.
Michael Schumacher who is the seven-time world champion and all-time Formula One legend began his career in Belgium in 1991 and finished his career in Brazil in 2012. After coming second behind Alonso in the drivers’ championship, Schumacher, who was racing for Ferrari at the time, left the grid at the end of the 2006 season.
However, in 2010, the German responded to Mercedes’ invitation for a Formula 1 seat and returned to racing for another three seasons, bringing his total number of Grand Prix starts to 307.
Alonso took a hiatus from Formula One as well, leaving McLaren at the end of 2018 and rejoining Alpine in 2021. His last F1 victory was in the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix, while his most recent podium was with Alpine in Qatar last year.
