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• Kimi Raikkonen and Rubens Barrichello have each competed in 323 F1 races.
• Raikkonen will become the most experienced driver at an upcoming race.
• Jenson Button has raced in 306 races.
• For more motoring stories, go to www.Wheels24.co.za
Formula 1 is all about records, and 2020 will see a fair share of them being broken. Most notably Lewis Hamilton bettering or equalling some of Michael Schumacher's records. But another record that will be broken at the upcoming Eifel Grand Prix in Germany is that of Rubens Barrichello.
Did you know that Barrichello is the most experienced F1 driver in history, with 323 races under his belt? 326, according to Barrichello's own record. At the past Russian GP, Kimi Raikkonen equalled Barrichello's tally, but when the Eifel GP comes around this coming weekend (9 - 11 October 2020), Raikkonen will become the most experienced driver in the sport's history.
And just a few races on, he'll pass Barrichello's personal count of 326 races, as well.
The 300 club
In the sport's history, only five drivers have surpassed 300 races. Along with Raikkonen and Barrichello, Fernando Alonso, Schumacher, and Jenson Button complete the member count of this elite group. Of them, only Barrichello has not won the F1 drivers' championship. Schumacher, as we know, won it a record seven times, while Alonso achieved the feat twice, and Raikkonen and Button each once.
All five drivers have made their mark on the sport and are, in some way or form, still involved with it, albeit whichever way or form. Alonso will make his return in 2021 after 'taking a break' at the end of 2018 and exploring other racing codes, like Dakar. When he returns with Renault on a multi-year deal, he will add to his count of 312 races and surpass Barrichello.
Raikkonen is yet to announce his plans after his Alfa Romeo contract comes to an end at the end of 2020, but whispers are going around that he will stick around for at least one more season. If that happens, we might see the two most experienced drivers in F1 history line up on the starting grid for the final race of the 2021 season.
