Kimi Raikkonen Ousted by Ferrari in Favour of LeClerc in 2019

2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen will be racing his final few races in the Scuderia colours. This is because, it has been reported that Ferrari are replacing him with Charles LeClerc in 2019.

This may or may not come as a surprise, given that the Finn has been racing in F1 since 2001. Although he left in 2010 to pursue other sports, he returned in 2012 with Lotus. He won his only title in 2007 for the Scuderia Ferrari team ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

The Finn has very few options coming his way with several doors closing in his face. The news was confirmed on Twitter but a statement from Ferrari and Raikkonen is yet to be made.

In the meantime, Kimi Raikkonen will see out the rest of the 2018 season and try and aid Sebastian Vettel in his quest for the 2018 crown.

The 38-year old has come a long way since he debuted for Sauber in 2001. In 2002, he joined McLaren as Mika Hakkinen’s successor. He would remain there until 2007 when he succeeded the retiring Michael Schumacher. The Finn would then win the championship on his debut in Ferrari overalls.

However, needing a change of scenery, he left F1 and joined the World Rally Championship. He also tried out his hand at stock car racing (NASCAR) for a while. But then, he was coaxed back into F1 with the Lotus team where he met considerable success.

He rejoined Ferrari in 2014 alongside fellow veteran, Fernando Alonso. He remained there with the team for future seasons, partnering Sebastian Vettel. But since then, he has not been as competitive as his German teammate, but has been able to challenge this year.

Moving on to the subject of his successor, Charles LeClerc is a product of the Ferrari driver academy. When he was promoted to Alfa Romeo-Sauber, he began to showcase his talent. Almost immediately, he caught the eye of the late Sergio Marchionne and was touted to be a future Ferrari driver. With Raikkonen’s future on the line, it seemed like LeClerc’s appointment to Ferrari seemed like a foregone conclusion.