Leclerc Replacing Raikkonen Calculated Move By Ferrari To Keep With Changing Times

Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene shed more light on the team’s recent decision to end Kimi Raikkonen’s tenure and replace him with young rising star Charles Leclerc for the 2019 season and beyond.

In the days leading up to the announcement in Monza during the Italian Grand Prix, it was believed that Ferrari will retain Raikkonen for at least one more season to give Leclerc more time getting to grips with Formula 1 despite impressing in his debut campaign.

But it was not to be as the Italian team announced on Sept.11 that the Finn will be leaving. After spending eight seasons in two different spells with Ferrari he will now join Sauber for the next two seasons. Raikkonen is Ferrari’s most recent Drivers’ champion, but Arrivabene believes the team had to look to the future and hence decided to promote Leclerc, who is a product of the Ferrari driver academy.

The Ferrari chief also admitted the team had to keep with the changing times, which has seen a number of young drivers make the step up in recent years. He pointed to Red Bull Racing, whose lead driver next season – Max Verstappen – is just 20 years old and his new teammate Pierre Gasly is 22.

Mercedes are probably going to be the only team on the grid that will retain the same driver lineup for 2019 with all the other teams making changes to their roster. Valtteri Bottas joined Lewis Hamilton after the departure of Nico Rosberg and he looks to be a long-term solution despite the team giving him just a one-year deal.

Ferrari are also keen to be prepared for the future and believed it was better to promote Leclerc and help him grow within the team. And with Vettel as a teammate, there is no doubt he can learn from one of the best drivers on the grid at the moment.

“Times are changing. The most important thing is to keep our DNA but also to look forward to the future," Arrivabene told Sky Sports F1. "If you look at the situation in the paddock today, Red Bull took Gasly alongside Verstappen and McLaren have Sainz with Norris who is a rookie."

"Looking to the future, Mercedes making the choice two years ago [appointing Valtteri Bottas to partner Lewis Hamilton] they already have an advantage. The best way to be able to gain something is to make that choice and to grow up a talent that was born into the Ferrari driver academy,” the Ferrari team principal added.

Vettel, however, was in favor of Raikkonen remaining his teammate for at least one more season. Not only because of his relationship with the Finn, but also because he felt Leclerc was too inexperienced to make the step up to the works Ferrari team.

However, Arrivabene made it clear the decision to replace Raikkonen was all to do with him and the Ferrari management with no driver input taken.

"Sebastian is our driver, he is not a team principal, with all due respect," Arrivabene said." My job is to look at the overall situation, to discuss with my bosses, to give to them a long-term plan.”

"When we were talking about the long-term plan, the decision is taken by the management and not by the driver," he said.