The lost Prost or Senna? Ferrari's only driver younger than Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc will be 21 years and 153 days old when he makes his grand prix debut for Ferrari in Melbourne next year. Only one driver in the Scuderia's history has made his bow with the team at a younger age – Mexico's Ricardo Rodriguez.

Throughout a year that has seen rumours linking Leclerc with the hottest seat in Formula 1, most opponents to the idea have rightly pointed to Maranello's famed hesitance to put trust in youth.

The man Leclerc replaces – Kimi Raikkonen – perhaps best sums this up. The Iceman has not won a race since returning to Ferrari in 2014, but his are among the safest hands on the grid. Plus, his subservience to Sebastian Vettel, right up until Monza last weekend, was an added bonus.

There is no doubt that Leclerc is a once-in-a-generation talent. He has often delivered much more than Sauber ought to be capable of in 2018 and an 11-3 qualifying record over a defeated Marcus Ericsson speaks for itself.

Leclerc entered F1 with plenty of fanfare after GP3 and Formula 2 title wins in each of the past two years. Like the Monegasque, Rodriguez was a precocious talent, and a high achiever at a young age. Here we recount the remarkable story of a driver that burned bright, but far, far too short.

RICARDO RODRIGUEZ (Ferrari 1961-1961, Grands Prix: 6, Best Result: 4th)

Born in 1942, Rodriguez was racing, and winning, races overseas at just 15. At the age of 18, he finished second at the 1960 Le Mans 24 Hours, driving a Ferrari for the North American Racing Team with Andre Pilette.

His fledgling successes caught the eye of Ferrari, who offered him a drive at the 1961 Italian Grand Prix.

Incredibly, aged 19 years and 208 days, he started the Monza race second after a blistering qualifying performance, second only to title contender Wolfgang von Trips on another of five Ferraris in the race.

Rodriguez remained the youngest man to line up on the front row of a grand prix all the way until August 2016 when Max Verstappen qualified second at Spa-Francorchamps.

The teenaged Rodriguez's race ended after 13 laps due to a fuel issue, and the event was overshadowed by Von Trips' death after a crash on the opening lap.

Rodriguez had earned a Ferrari deal, however, a fourth-placed finish in Belgium – only denied a podium by team orders - made him F1's youngest points-scorer, a record that lasted for 32 years until Jenson Button came home sixth in Brazil in 2000.

In November that year, the inaugural Mexican Grand Prix was held in Rodriguez birthplace Mexico City. A non-championship event, Ferrari did not enter, reportedly infuriating Rodriguez, who instead raced for Lotus.

After John Surtees supplanted him at the top of the timesheets in practice, Rodriguez went out for another run to try and put the Mexican flag back on top, but he would not return.

Thrown from the car and into the barriers after carrying too much speed into the banked Peraltada turn, Rodriguez perished instantly after suffering head and neck injuries.

Mexico entered a state of national mourning and the Magdalena-Mixhuca track was renamed in his honour. It has since been renamed the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez – a change made when Ricardo's elder brother Pedro too died at the wheel at the Norisring in 1971.

Jo Ramirez, a friend of the Rodriguez brothers who went on to work in F1 with McLaren, said of Ricardo: "I may be biased, but I think he would have become another [Alain] Prost or [Ayrton] Senna. He was very, very special."