5 drivers with most races as a Ferrari driver

Ferrari is a name that is tied to F1. The Italian giants are by far the most successful team in the sport, and they have some of the best drivers racing for them.

They have been racing in F1 ever since the sport was born and have won the most drivers' and constructors' world championships. Some drivers have cemented their name with the Prancing Horse, racing with them for the majority of their careers.

Here is a list of five drivers with the most F1 race starts under the Ferrari banner.

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5 drivers with most race starts for Ferrari

#5. Rubens Barrichello - 82 race starts

Rubens Barrichello had a long career in F1, during which he served the Italian giants from 2000 to 2005. The Brazilian driver was a teammate of Michael Schumacher.

He helped the team dominate the sport like no other team had ever done before, but was unable to bag a drivers' world championship for himself. This was mainly because the title was always won by Schumacher, who outmuscled his teammate and every single driver on the grid at that time.

During his six years at Ferrari, he started 82 races, out of which he won nine.

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#4. Sebastian Vettel - 109 race starts

Sebastian Vettel and his fans were ecstatic when he moved to Ferrari in 2015. Since Vettel's hero was Michael Schumacher, the German followed in his idol's footsteps to join the Maranello-based team after winning his four world championships at Red Bull from 2010 to 2013.

Even though he was unable to win a dream title with the team, Vettel was a key member of the Prancing Horse for several years. Out of 109 races for Ferrari, he won 14.

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#3. Felipe Massa - 139 race starts

Felipe Massa was another top driver who raced for Ferrari for quite some time. The Brazilian joined the Italian team in 2006 and was paired with Michael Schumacher at the time, who was then replaced by Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.

In 2008, Felipe Massa was in an intense championship battle with Lewis Hamilton, who was with McLaren at the time. The British driver won his first title, while Massa missed out by just one point. In his entire stint at Ferrari, he won 11 races in total.

Felipe Massa has recently raised a legal accusation against the sport for ignoring the infamous 'crashgate' incident at the 2008 F1 Singapore GP, where Renault deliberately orchestrated a crash, which sabotaged Massa's race and allowed Fernando Alonso to win.

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#2. Kimi Raikkonen - 151 race starts

Kimi Raikkonen has a special place in Ferrari. "The Iceman" raced for the team over two stints, with a brief sabbatical from F1 in between. However, his first year in Scuderia was the most successful one of his entire career.

The Finn signed for the team in 2007 and was able to win his first and only World Championship that year. While McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were having an intense title battle, Kimi Raikkonen joined the party, outscored both of them and took the top spot for himself.

He then left the sport in 2010 before returning with Lotus in 2012. However, he re-signed with the Italian giants in 2014 and raced for them until 2018.

In his eight years with the team, he started in 151 Grand Prix, of which he won 10.

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#1. Michael Schumacher - 179 race starts

Michael Schumacher's name is synonymous with Ferrari. The two were a match made in heaven. The German joined the team when they most needed him, and he left them after building an unprecedented empire of dominance. Schumacher was already a two-time World Champion when he joined the Prancing Horse in 1996. At that time, the team was struggling to compete at the top and had been titleless for more than a decade.

The German lured a couple of engineers from his former team, Benetton, one of whom was Ross Brawn. With Brawn and Ferrari boss Jean Todt, Schumacher gradually built a championship-worthy team. The team's first title was in 1999, with Schumacher's first with the team in 2000. Ever since 2000, he and Ferrari started a dominant era that had not been seen in F1. They won five titles back-to-back from 2000 to 2004.

After the glory years, Schumacher's final attempt at winning his eighth title was in 2006, where he finished second, only a few points behind young Fernando Alonso. He left Ferrari after 2006, completing 179 race starts, out of which he won 72.