Ferrari Should Choose Raikkonen Over Leclerc, Villeneuve Says

Mercedes are the only one among the top three teams — Ferrari and Red Bull Racing being the other two — to confirm their driver lineup for the 2019 season. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have been retained by the reigning champions for the upcoming campaign making it the duo’s third season together.

Ferrari have Sebastian Vettel signed up until the end of the 2020 season, but his teammate’s identity continues to remain a mystery. Kimi Raikkonen is his current teammate and former driver Jacques Villeneuve believes they should retain the Finn for at least one more season.

Initial reports suggested that Raikkonen, 38, will be replaced by rising star Charles Leclerc, who has impressed his debut season with Sauber. It was believed that the Monegasque driver, who is part of the Ferrari driver academy had agreed terms with the Italian team.

Talks of an agreement was refuted by Leclerc during the Hungarian Grand Prix in July and it seems the pendulum has swung back in Raikkonen’s favor following a string of impressive drives from the 2007 F1 Drivers’ champion.

A recent report from F1Only indicated that Raikkonen is close to reaching an agreement with Ferrari over a new two-year deal, but with a clause that allows the team to make a change after the end of the first year. The Finn has impressed — having finished on the podium in the last five races.

Vettel has also called on the team to retain him for at least one more season and Villeneuve believes it is the right decision. Raikkonen is currently third in the world championship and has shown on occasion that he can challenge his German teammate in terms of outright speed.

“Of course! Look how well he has been doing,” Villeneuve said when asked on F1 podcast “Beyond the Grid." “He is third in the championship, his often quicker than Vettel and when he is not he is a tenth or so behind, and he is paramount in the development of the car. The whole team works fantastically well now.”

“Put a young cub next to Vettel, what will Vettel do? He will try to eat him alive, he will either destroy the young cub or it will end in tears and the team will end up going slower within two years,” he said.

Ferrari are certain to promote Leclerc to the works team in the near future, but Villeneuve admits that at the moment he is still too inexperienced to drive for a top team.

He believes stints at a junior team will help him prepare and be ready when Ferrari come calling in the near future. Leclerc is expected to join Haas Racing, another Ferrari powered team in 2019 if he is not promoted by the Maranello-based outfit.

“Charles is still making a few mistakes. It would be great for Leclerc, it would be amazing for him but it will be two years of Ferrari preparing him. Ferrari is like Mercedes, it is not a team to prepare drivers,” the 1997 F1 world champion said. “It’s a top team, top teams pay for the drivers when they are at their best and when they want them. That’s why you have junior teams to prepare them.”