Top 10 drivers with most races in Formula 1

The two-time champion Fernando Alonso overtook Kimi this year as the most experienced driver in Formula 1.

Formula 1 has been home to some of the most talented racers in history. Regarded as the pinnacle of motorsport, it's never easy to secure a drive in the series. Brutal axing has been a part of Formula 1 since the start. Respecting this certain fact, we take a look at the drivers with the most races in the history of Formula 1.

10. Jarno Trulli (252)

Jarno Trulli made his debut in 1997 with Minardi. He is mostly remembered for his stint at Renault where he was Alonso's teammate in 2002-04. Trulli was also the teammate of Jenson Button in the Brit's first two years at Jordan.

He spent a long part of his career with Toyota Racing. Jarno Trulli left Formula 1 at the end of 2012 and left for Formula E.

9. Riccardo Patrese (256)

Italian driver Riccardo Patrese made his Formula 1 in the 1977 Monaco Grand Prix. Over his 16-year-long career, he drove for Shadow, Arrows, Brabham, Alfa Romeo, Williams and Benetton. In 1987, he was given a chance to revitalise his career when Patrese tested the FW11B at Imola in place of injured Nigel Mansell. He set a time half a second quicker than Senna's pole lap at Imola. Which quickly made them draft the Italian into the squad.

As most top teams already had drivers signed for 1994, Patrese opted for retirement and brought what was then the longest F1 career in history to a conclusion. The Italian was invited to rejoin Williams in 1994 to fill the seat of Ayrton Senna after his fatal accident at Imola but ultimately decided against returning to Formula 1.

He was called up in 1996 to test the Williams FW18 at Silverstone. The time he set was enough to secure the front row in the British GP that year.

8. Felipe Massa (269)

Brazilian driver Felipe Massa started his F1 career with Sauber in 2002. He joined Ferrari as their main driver in 2006. His Brazil GP victory that year made him the first Brazilian driver since Ayrton Senna to do the same. His career is famously remembered for being a 26-second world champion before Hamilton crossed the line at a position required for him. This happened in the rain-affected Brazil GP 2008 where Hamilton won his first-ever championship.

Massa announced that he would retire from Formula One at the end of the 2016 season. However, the abrupt retirement of 2016 Formula One Champion Nico Rosberg from Mercedes precipitated the late move of Valtteri Botas from Williams to Mercedes, leaving a late vacancy at Williams. Massa subsequently postponed his retirement, returning to Williams to partner rookie Lance Stroll for 2017. On 4 November 2017, Massa confirmed that he would be retiring from Formula One at the end of the 2017 season.

7. Sebastian Vettel (297)

Four times F1 champ Sebastian Vettel is retiring after this season. The German has many records and feats to his name and is regarded among the greatest ever in Formula 1. He won four consecutive titles from 2010 to 2013 with Red Bull. The former Red Bull champion has also raced for Toro Rosso, Ferrari and Aston Martin.

He made his debut in the 2007 US GP. He got his first win the following year with Toro Rosso. His 299th and last race will be in Abu Dhabi this year.

5. Jenson Button/Michael Schumacher (305)

Michael Schumacher too had a long career in Formula 1. He raced in three different decades. Schumacher raced against the likes of Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen Kimi and Fernando Alonso. He made his debut in 1991 with Jordan. He won his first championship in 1994 with Benetton. Michael repeated the same but in a dominant fashion. 1995 was also the first time that a team other than Ferrari, Williams and McLaren won the constructor's title.

He dominated the 2000s as long as he raced. Schumacher won five consecutive titles from 2000 to 2004. Schumacher announced his retirement in 2007 onwards. He came back to the grid when German manufacturers Mercedes entered the arena. The German partnered with Nico Rosberg for three years, 2010-12. He could not do the same he used to do in the previous decade. Michael Schumacher announced his retirement for good at the end of 2012.

Former McLaren and Brawn GP man Jenson Button are tied with Michael Schumacher in this regard. Button made his F1 debut in 2000 with Williams. He joined BAR in 2003 which was later renamed Honda and later got rebranded as Brawn GP, where he won his first and only championship. He bowed out of the series at the end of 2017.

4. Lewis Hamilton (307)

Seven times Word Champion Lewis Hamilton has broken almost all of the records which Michael Schumacher had set. At the US GP, he went past the German and his former McLaren teammate Jenson Button. In his long and historically successful career, he only drove for McLaren and Mercedes.

Hamilton's race wins overshadow his longevity. He is the only F1 driver to win races in three different decades. And he is the only other driver on the list who will still be racing next year.

3. Rubens Barichello (322)

Rubens Barichello is another Brazilian driver on the list who is mainly associated with Ferrari. He was the first driver to surpass Patrese's 256.

Barichello was famously the number two driver of Ferrari during the Michael Schumacher era. He joined the Italian squad in 2000 and left for Honda after the end of the 2005 season. During his stay at Ferrari, he finished runner-up twice in 2002 and 2004.

He was a Honda driver when Ross Brawn did the unthinkable with his own team Brawn GP. Barichello teamed up with Jenson Button in 2009. The number one driver status was tossed up between the two but Button had a superior start to the season. Which made them prioritize Button for the rest of the season. While Button won the championship, Barichello finished third. He left for Williams for the following two years and retired at the end of 2011.

2. Kimi Raikkonen (349)

The 2007 World Champion and still the last driver to win a title with Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen is second on the list. He started his F1 career in 2001 and continued on to 2021, with a two-year break in between (2010-11). While starting the 2021 season, he was supposed to be the first-ever driver to reach 350 race starts in Formula 1. But COVID took him out of the Belgium GP and at the end of the Abu Dhabi GP, he was left with 349 starts.

Throughout the years, Kimi drove for the likes of Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus and back to Alfa Romeo, which is more-or-less the continuation of Sauber. He had two stints in two different eras with Ferrari. After leaving in 2009, he came back to the team in 2013. It was initially a two-year contract but his stay was extended till 2018. He produced some memorable moments like the Monza Pole and the US GP victory in 2018.

1. Fernando Alonso (353)

On the top is two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard passed his fellow 2001 debutant, Kimi Raikkonen, in the Singapore Grand Prix. He also became the first-ever driver to start 350 races in the series.

In his long career, he drove for Renault, Ferrari, McLaren and finally Alpine which is basically a continuation of Renault. At the age of 42, Alonso isn't signs of slowing down. He is comfortably amongst the top three drivers in the grid right now. He has signed a new multi-year contract with Aston Martin for 2023 and beyond.