Ferrari have been delaying the announcement of their 2019 driver lineup for sometime now, as the new Ferrari management have yet to decide on the Raikkonen-Leclerc situation.
Marchionne’s initial agreement with Leclerc has made Ferrari hit a roadblock in their attempt to keep Raikkonen at the team for another year.
The new management, along with Vettel and Arrivabene want Kimi to stay on for another year, primarily because of the way he has been driving this season and also because it will allow a smoother transition after the loss of Marchionne.
According to recent reports that have emerged today, Ferrari have reached a middle ground with Leclerc and Sauber, wherein Leclerc will be on course to join Ferrari in 2020 and will get the initial agreed upon salary of $2 million in 2019, whilst still driving for Sauber.
Latest rumour out of Italy on Raikkonen’s future. Leclerc is to delay joining Ferrari until 2020 and will stay at Sauber on the salary agreed for his contract at the Scuderia. One more year of learning the ropes for him and Kimi gets another year.
— Grand Prix Diary (@GrandPrixDiary) September 8, 2018
An update on the report has been presented by the same source, confirming that Vettel and Arrivabene want Raikkonen to stay and are pressing for the above proposed middle ground.
Along with that, they want a straight swap between Leclerc and Raikkonen at the end of the 2019 season.
Apparently, both Vettel and Arrivabene are pushing for this solution. Sauber said to be keen on a straightforward Raikkonen/Leclerc swap at the end of the 2019 season. Seems to make sense. https://t.co/BmYrNcEUj6
— Grand Prix Diary (@GrandPrixDiary) September 8, 2018
This means Raikkonen won’t be quitting F1 and Ferrari will bide their time by letting Leclerc gain some more experience next year.
