Charles Leclerc Just One Podium Away from Joining Ferrari’s Exclusive Club

Charles Leclerc Just One Podium Away from Joining Ferrari's Exclusive Club

Ferrari is arguably the most iconic name in F1, steeped in history owing to its success and religious fan following. Driving for the Maranello-based outfit is a matter of pride for F1 drivers, let alone breaking records and Charles Leclerc—Ferrari’s golden boy—is on course to do just that. All he needs is one more podium.

Currently, Leclerc has achieved 39 podiums with Ferrari—not a bad tally considering he joined the team in 2019 and has navigated some challenging times. When he reaches the next milestone, he will join a prestigious list of the team’s greatest drivers, all of whom have finished in the top three at least 40 times during their careers with Ferrari.

The other drivers on this list are Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Rubens Barichello, Sebastian Vettel, and seven-time World Champion—the GOAT to many—Michael Schumacher.

Leclerc’s podium haul has not just been down to his skill, but also his consistency. He joined Ferrari with the hopes of becoming World Champion, which remains a dream to this day. But his determination to always give his best and elevate the team has paid off.

In 2024, Leclerc, who has clearly been the team leader, has stood on the podium nine times so far driving the SF-24 — not the most consistent car. Extracting performance has been difficult, and at times, left Leclerc frustrated.

However, the team reworked its concept after the summer break, fast-tracking ideas from its 2025 challenger, to become a top team once again. Results were visible firsthand when Leclerc crossed the chequered flag in P1 at Monza — marking Ferrari’s first home win since 2019.

In the upcoming triple-header—Austin, Mexico, and Brazil—Leclerc will be hoping to go for his third win at the season (he also won in Monaco) but it won’t be easy. He has just one podium in COTA and Mexico City. In Sao Paolo, things are worse with the 27-year-old never finishing in the top three.

If Leclerc isn’t able to win, he would like to enter the ’40 podiums for Ferrari’ club at the very least. Nonetheless, there would be six more races this season for him to achieve that.

Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
Charles Leclerc ferrari

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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