Will Räikkönen still be with Ferrari in 2019?

The more weeks go by, the greater the chances of seeing Kimi Räikkönen alongside Sebastian Vettel in 2019 increase considerably. Just a few weeks ago, it was believed that young driver Charles Leclerc would arrive from Alfa Romeo-Sauber, due to the quality of his performances in the first half of the season. However, various factors are now in favor of keeping the Finnish driver at Ferrari next year.

A new stronger, more conservative man

Firstly, the death of former Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne, who was more in favor of Leclerc’s arrival, was replaced by Louis Camilleri. A former CEO of Philip Morris and an old acquaintance of Arrivabene, the leader seems to follow the team principal’s advice, opting for stability over the arrival of a 20-year-old driver. The promotion of rookie Charles Leclerc would then be postponed until the 2020 season, according to information heard in the paddock in Hungary last weekend.

Another factor in favor of Räikkönen is his consistency in the first half of the season. Highlighted by his five consecutive podium finishes since the French Grand Prix, with one second place and four third positions, a series that’s still ongoing. In total, the 2007 world champion has been on the podium eight times in twelve events, and remains the only driver to have scored points in every race since Monaco at the end of May.

Still a beautiful coastline!

Consequently, Räikkönen is in third place in the drivers’ standings, with 146 points, 43 points behind his teammate Vettel, but 14 points ahead of Bottas (both Finnish drivers having two retirements each). Beyond the numbers, there’s the team dynamic. The German champion wouldn’t be disappointed at the prospect of seeing the 38-year-old driver by his side in 2019, as the relationship between the two men has been strong since their partnership at Ferrari began in 2015. And obviously, it’s worth noting that the Scuderia primarily relies on experienced drivers and very rarely gives a young driver a chance.

In any case, a confirmation would allow “Iceman” to embark on a ninth season with Ferrari and get closer to the record for starts with the Prancing Horse team: a performance held by Michael Schumacher with 180 Grand Prix races, compared to 142 currently for Räikkönen. A matter to follow, therefore. The suspense will undoubtedly end before the Italian Grand Prix in early September.

Grade – No driver has raced fewer laps outside of the top-10 so far this season than @ScuderiaFerrari‘s Kimi Räikkönen (8). #F1 @FansOfKR #Kimi7 @Iceman7News @CMoreF1 @AttachMax #Ferrari #ThursdayThoughts pic.twitter.com/uDxmUsBoUW

— Mobil 1 The Grid (@Mobil1TheGrid) 2 août 2018