Ferrari F1 Rumors: Charles Leclerc Agreement For 2019, Raikkonen To Join Sauber

The Formula 1 driver market is likely to go into high gear as the summer break nears with a number of teams yet to confirm their driver line up for the 2019 season. There are two races to go — the German and the Hungarian Grand Prix — before the teams break for the summer and it remains to be seen if any major decisions are revealed prior to that.

Ferrari are among the teams yet to confirm their driver lineup with Sebastian Vettel the only driver signed up on a long-term deal. Their second driver Kimi Raikkonen is yet to be handed a new deal after he signed only a one-year extension in 2017.

The Finn is keen to remain at Ferrari for at least one more season, but admitted it will be the team’s decision whether to continue with the oldest driver on the grid or make a change.

Charles Leclerc, who is part of the Ferrari young driver academy, is being considered a potential replacement owing to his impressive performances in his debut season. The young Monegasque driver is driving for Sauber and has taken the underperforming team to new heights this season.

Leclerc has finished in the points on five occasions in the first 10 races of the campaign, while also taking Sauber into Q2 on seven occasions, something that was unthinkable at the start of the campaign.

Ferrari have to make a decision with regards to promoting a young up and coming prospect or retaining the experience of Raikkonen, who was the last driver to win the Italian team an F1 Drivers’ championship title.

The Finn has failed to win a race since returning to Ferrari in 2014, but has consistently finished on the podium this season and the last. Vettel has won four races this season, and is leading the Drivers’ championship, while Raikkonen is 55 points behind in third place.

According to Sky Sports, numerous sources in Italy suggest there is already an agreement between Leclerc and Ferrari for next season and beyond, but nothing is concrete at the moment. In the seasons gone by there have been number of candidates , who came close to replace the Finn, but the team have in the last minute decided to retain their current driver lineup.

Meanwhile, according to website Wheels24, reports in Switzerland linked Raikkonen with going back to Sauber, the team he started his career with 17 years ago. It is unlikely the Finnish racer will move to a team that generally fights at the back of the grid, but he is likely to have limited number of options should Ferrari opt to replace him with Leclerc in 2019.

Former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa has also given a glowing endorsement of the rising star by suggesting Leclerc is certain to be a future F1 champion. The Brazilian said: “F1 driver champion in the future!! I said that beginning of last year!! Go for it and continue like this brother — Charles Leclerc,” via his official Twitter account.

Former F1 driver Martin Brundle and former Renault team principal Flavio Briatore have urged Ferrari to replace Raikkonen, as they believe the Italian team will not win the Constructors’ title with the current pairing.

Meanwhile, Ferrari are not the only top team yet to confirm their driver lineup with Mercedes and Red Bull Racing also yet to decide on their pairing for the 2019 season. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas are both out of contract at the end of the 2018 season, while the former is expected to sign a new deal in the coming months, it is unclear who his teammate will be. The Finn is confident of retaining his seat after putting in some impressive drives this campaign.

Red Bull also have one driver tied on a long-term deal — Max Verstappen — but are still negotiating with Daniel Ricciardo, who initially looked like he could be on his way out. But after it became clear that there was unlikely to be a vacancy at either Ferrari or Mercedes, he is now likely to remain with his current employers.