F1: Top 5 Ferrari Driver Academy Graduates

#1 Charles Leclerc

Leclerc's podium in Bahrain showed his potential, but it should've been his first victory in F1.

Charles Leclerc's rookie season in 2018 was one of the best debut campaigns in Formula 1 history and he was one of the standout drivers that year too.

The Monegasque driver was good friends with Jules Bianchi, and has taken the spot that the late Frenchman was destined to take alongside Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari for 2019.

Leclerc's season with Sauber continued his excellent form in the junior categories, as he won GP3 and F2 in back-to-back season while being a Ferrari junior driver.

Marcus Ericsson had been with Sauber since 2015, but Leclerc well and truly usurped the Swede, finishing "best of the rest" in many races and as high as sixth in Azerbaijan.

Leclerc's speed, consistency, wheel-to-wheel skill and mature attitude convinced the Prancing Horse to make Charles their second-youngest driver ever for 2019.

His third place in Bahrain may have been a dissapointment due to an engine issue, but he did become the sixth-youngest man to stand on the podium and the third youngest to set a fastest lap. As Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas said in the post-race cooldown room, he's got a very bright future indeed, and his first win won't be too far away.

But who do you think is the best driver to have come through the Ferrari driver academy? Is it Leclerc or someone else? Let us know in the comments below!