Imola74

Leclerc to replace Raikkonen at Ferrari for 2019

Im happy for Leclerc, the kid has so much potential. I don't think we'll see a Verstappen like scenario with this line up with regards to immaturity. Kimi's expertise will do great things for Sauber's future in F1

LuigiVampa

The worst kept secret of F1 for 2018 but surprised Kimi is going to Sauber.

Personally, I think they should have waited another year. Kimi has been hauling in the points this year and consistency is what wins constructors championships.

seanseidman

I totally agree. Leclerc Vettel will end ugly like Ric and Ver

Veloce Raptor

Yep

StoogeMoe

Yeah, agree that they should have waited another year. Happy for "Sha" LeClerc. He may dazzle us next year. Vettel may not be able to beat him, so he better get the championship done this year.

Find it hard to understand Kimi's motivation for going back to Sauber. Maybe he wants to end where he started? Or just loves racing in F1 and is not ready to call it quits yet. Will look forward to Kimi kicking butt in a lesser car.

Glyndellis

Ferrari could've kept Kimi and released Vettel. They would be able to lose the WDC at a lower cost......

DTMiller

It sort of kind of seemed like they were trying to get Kimi the win at Monza and with this information that feeling only gets stronger....

BillNye

I'm really happy for LeClerc, he's one of my favorite drivers on the grid right now. I am a little surprised that Ferrari pulled the plug on Kimi, and that he decided to slowly fade out with a back-marker team instead of retiring from a front runner. Although, I could also see Kimi not caring about the spotlight as long as he can race.

Makes me think Ferrari/FCA/Alfa are planning to put even more resources into the Sauber team to make them a proper mid-field team to challenge the Mercedes customer/junior teams. Kimi is known for his ability to give great feedback on the car. Hopefully they'll give him an engineer that can understand it better than the one at Ferrari.

Carrera51

Well I guess this means that Kimi will tell Ferrari where they can stick their team orders the rest of this year. Unless that has all been covered in the negotiations and the size of the check Kimi will get to help elevate Sauber/Alfa to the next level. Guessing Kimi took the Sauber seat to bring his F1 career full circle.

Imola74

I guess what I meant about Leclerc compared to Verstappen is that he won't be as aggressive or contentious to his team mate- we'll see. I agree that Vettel is bound to feel pressure from Leclerc, but it will take some time for him to get used to the new Red car. For example Bottas was not exactly quick the beginning of 2017. Maybe this move by Ferrari is more in a jab at Red Bull keeping young talent on their team going forward. RB has been known for making moves like this- Vettel and Verstappen both. Also I think Ferrari felt that if they didn't secure Leclerc, somebody else would.

951and944S

Just curious, but what do you guys mean about Ric/Ver "ending ugly"....?

Personally, I think Riciardo's been diminished back to his rightful place of jouneyman...

Don't think that's in the cards for Vettel.

T

Vettel-ish

Lets be honest Danny Ric has had god awful luck.. Red bull one week is going to win to the next week playing with Williams in the back.

Max is just a kid and need to grow up. I want to see what Danny and Renault can do. Might be a good pair.

My only worry for Vettel is that he is threatened by Lecare. Remember he did not do well when Danny came over and was just as fast.

mehoff

Was always curious about this, so may as well ask here: who are the car set-up savants on the grid? I know HAM is exceptional (hence why he was so crusty last year with ROS getting his data), but who else actually adds real value/speed to the car as opposed to just getting in and hitting the go-fast button?

Think the guys that can communicate and find time with the engineers should be the big $$$ drivers and most sought after for mid-tier organizations to "steward" the team

951and944S

LOL, Verstappen is the purest racer in the whole of F1.

If by growing up, you mean being beat into submission so he plays "fair" as defined by also rans in an aim to slow him down, well then yeah, there's more than a few that probably hopes he grows up...

Grasley would bring some youthful exuberance into most any team at 22 years old.

Trouble for him is, Max is still just 20.

T

seanseidman

When i say "ended badly", I mean drivers fighting with each other, not abiding by agreements, and collectively bringing down team morale
I think Leclerc will be faster than Vettel, and lots of drama will ensue