At the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso broke the record for the longest Formula 1 career. Which other drivers had the longest Formula 1 careers? We take a look!
Fernando Alonso: 23 years and counting
Fernando Alonso set a new record for the longest Formula 1 career at the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. His Baku appearance came 21 years, 3 months and 8 days after his first appearance at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix.
Alonso became the first driver to have a career lasting 22 years at the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix. During those 22 years, Alonso has raced for Minardi, Renault, McLaren, Ferrari, Alpine and ventured into 2023 with Aston Martin. He has won 32 Grands Prix and two World Championships.
At the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix, the Spaniard set a new record as the driver to have made the most F1 starts, usurping Kimi Raikkonen from the top spot. Alonso’s time in F1 featured a two-season hiatus in 2019 and 2020 as he pursued racing in other categories.
Michael Schumacher: 21 years, 3 months, 0 days
Michael Schumacher was the previous record holder for the longest Formula 1 career. Making his debut at the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix, Schumacher made his final F1 appearance over 21 years later at the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Schumacher is one of the most successful Formula 1 drivers of all time, with 91 Grand Prix victories and seven world titles. He took a three-year hiatus from the sport after leaving Ferrari at the end of the 2006 season. He returned in 2010 with the new Mercedes team.
Schumacher was unable to repeat his earlier success in his 58-race comeback stint, with a best result of third place at the 2012 European Grand Prix.
Kimi Raikkonen: 20 years, 9 months, 8 days
Kimi Raikkonen broke the record for most Grand Prix starts in his final year at the pinnacle of motorsport, but did not set a record for the longest Formula 1 career in terms of time elapsed between his first and last race.
Like Alonso, Raikkonen made his Formula 1 debut at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix. He made his final appearance at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Raikkonen is currently the only driver in F1 history to have a gap of over 15 years between his first and last wins; though Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso could both join Raikkonen’s exclusive club in 2024.
Raikkonen’s first victory was at the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix, with his last coming at the 2018 United States Grand Prix.
Rubens Barrichello: 18 years, 8 months, 13 days
Of the top seven drivers to have had the longest Formula 1 career, Rubens Barrichello is the only one without a title to his name. Barrichello did come close to winning the title, having been team-mate to Michael Schumacher in the all-conquering Ferrari between 2000 and 2005 and being in contention for the title until the final races in 2009.
Barrichello’s first race appearance came at the 1993 South African Grand Prix and his last was on home soil at the 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix. A planned comeback at the end of the 2014 season with Caterham would have extended Barrichello’s total time in F1 by 3 years, but the plans failed to materialise.
Barrichello made 323 Grand Prix starts in his Formula 1 career and held the record for most appearances from the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix until the 2020 Russian Grand Prix, when Kimi Raikkonen broke the record.
Jenson Button: 17 years, 2 months, 16 days
Jenson Button began his Formula 1 career at the first race of the new millennium, the 2000 Australian Grand Prix. Starting his career with Williams, Button went on to have success with his first win at Honda in 2006 and a surprise title victory with the newly-founded Brawn GP team in 2009.
Button ended his career at the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but made a comeback at the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix. He stepped into Fernando Alonso’s McLaren car as the Spaniard was competing in the Indianapolis 500.
Button’s comeback appearance added five months to his F1 career, but did not move him up the order of longest F1 careers.
Graham Hill: 16 years, 8 months, 8 days
Formula 1 careers lasting longer than ten years were a rarity in the 1950s and 1960s. 11 drivers who started their F1 career in the 1950s had World Championship careers which lasted longer than a decade.
Graham Hill is the only driver from the 1950s who remains in the top ten of longest F1 careers. Hill’s career in Formula 1 lasted just short of 17 years. Hill made 185 starts in a career which spanned from the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix to the 1975 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Jack Brabham, who also raced in the 1950s, remained in the top ten of longest Formula 1 careers until 2022, when his career length was overtaken by Lewis Hamilton, bumping him out of the top ten.
Lewis Hamilton: 17 years so far
At the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton equalled Graham Hill for the seventh-longest Formula 1 career – and is set to overtake Jenson Button as the British driver with the longest Formula 1 career at the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix.
Hamilton made his debut at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix and has raced with McLaren and Mercedes in his 18 seasons in the sport to date.
His illustrious career to date has seen him record no fewer than 103 wins, 104 poles and almost 200 podium finishes, equalling Michael Schumacher’s record of seven World Championship victories in the process.
Hamilton will enter his 19th season in Formula 1 in 2025, which will be his first in a non-Mercedes-powered car. In January 2024, he announced that he would be joining Ferrari next season.
The top 10 longest Formula 1 careers
Listed below are the top ten longest Formula 1 careers. This is based on the length of time between a driver’s first and last Grand Prix start. The list was last updated after the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix.
| Position | Driver | Career length | First start | Last start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fernando Alonso | 23 years, 2 months, 22 days | 2001 Australian Grand Prix | 2024 Monaco Grand Prix* |
| 2 | Michael Schumacher | 21 years, 3 months, 0 days | 1991 Belgian Grand Prix | 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| 3 | Kimi Raikkonen | 20 years, 9 months, 8 days | 2001 Australian Grand Prix | 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
| 4 | Rubens Barrichello | 18 years, 8 months, 13 days | 1994 South African Grand Prix | 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| 5 | Jenson Button | 17 years, 2 months, 16 days | 2000 Australian Grand Prix | 2017 Monaco Grand Prix |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | 17 years, 2 months, 8 days | 2007 Australian Grand Prix | 2024 Monaco Grand Prix* |
| 7 | Graham Hill | 16 years, 8 months, 8 days | 1958 Monaco Grand Prix | 1975 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| 8 | Riccardo Patrese | 16 years, 5 months, 16 days | 1977 Monaco Grand Prix | 1993 Australian Grand Prix |
| 9 | Luca Badoer | 16 years, 5 months, 16 days | 1993 South African Grand Prix | 2009 Belgian Grand Prix |
| 10 | Felipe Massa | 15 years, 8 months, 23 days | 2002 Australian Grand Prix | 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |