Ferrari have Lined Up Raikkonen’s Replacement

According to Autosport, Ferrari have decided to back their academy graduate, Charles Leclerc to take up the second seat alongside Vettel from the 2019 season onwards.

Ferrari did consider Ricciardo as an option but opted against it, with the Australian’s astronomical wage demands being cited as he reason for the break down of a move. Ferrari already shell out big bucks to Sebastian Vettel and did not want to spend so much on wages.

The final decision has not been made yet but the Italian team are said to be in favour of promoting Leclerc rather than retaining Raikkonen or bringing in a more established driver.

In case this does go through, Leclerc will be their first academy driver to be given a permanent race seat. Ferrari have so far only relied on getting experienced drivers for their line-up. Leclerc has won the GP2 and Formula 2 championships consecutively.

When asked about the move, Leclerc said that he was not thinking too much about it. “When it will be time to think about next year, I will think about it and hopefully we have an opportunity to take that seat”, he said.

Ferrari President, Sergio Marchionne had said back in December that 2018 might be the last chance that Raikkonen might get to showcase the ‘right key’.

Raikkonen did respond to that splendidly, scoring three podiums in the first four races of the year but has somewhat fallen off the radar, finishing off it in Monaco and Canada.

When asked about his future in F1, the Finn had stated that he was ‘not any different to one week, two weeks or a month ago.’ The Scuderia’s intentions were clear as they had only offered a one-year extension to him at the end of last year.

Ferrari’s decision seems understandable considering that Raikkonen is 39 years old and may not have the same reflexes as before. He is still their reigning champion but it is commendable to see that they are thinking of the future of the team and driver.