Formula 1: Charles Leclerc poised to replace Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari in 2019

Alfa Romeo Sauber rookie Charles Leclerc is poised to replace Kimi Raikkonen at Scuderia Ferrari in the 2019 Formula 1 season.

Last week, it was revealed that Scuderia Ferrari are ready to replace 2007 Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen with Charles Leclerc, the 20-year-old rookie who drives for Alfa Romeo Sauber and is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, in the 2019 Formula 1 season.

According to the BBC, a source close to Ferrari has stated that Leclerc has agreed to a two-year deal with Ferrari as the replacement for the 38-year-old Raikkonen, who is in his 16th season as a Formula 1 driver and his eighth season driving for Ferrari, starting next season.

That said, Leclerc has not yet officially signed a contract to replace the Finn and join Ferrari alongside four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel.

Leclerc landed a ride with Sauber this season alongside Marcus Ericsson, the 27-year-old Swede who is in his fifth season in Formula 1 and fourth season driving for Sauber, after winning the 2016 GP3 Series championship and the 2017 Formula 2 championship.

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Leclerc also test drove for Haas and Ferrari in the 2016 Formula 1 season, and he test drove for Sauber and Ferrari in the 2017 season. It has been speculated for quite some time that he would be Raikkonen’s predecessor, and it appears that a deal which will allow him to become just that is getting closer and closer to becoming a reality.

In his rookie season, Leclerc has been very impressive. After a rocky start in the first three races of the season during which his top finish was a 12th place finish in the Bahrain Grand Prix and his average finish was just 14.67, he has been on a roll in the last five races.

Leclerc has finished four of the last five races, as he crashed out of the Monaco Grand Prix. In the four races that he finished during that span, he racked up four points (top 10) finishes, including a career-high sixth place finish in the fourth race of the season, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

In those four races, Leclerc’s average finish was 9.00, and his average finish in the last five races was 10.80 even including his disappointing result in the Monaco Grand Prix, which is his home race. He was officially scored in 18th place in that race.

By Sauber standards, Leclerc is on a blistering pace. In fact, in the last five races, he has totaled 11 points, which is as many points as Ericsson has totaled in the first 84 races of his Formula 1 career. The Monegasque driver currently sits in a 13th place tie in the driver standings with Sahara Force India’s Esteban Ocon.

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Do you believe Charles Leclerc will sign a two-year deal to replace Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari starting in the 2019 Formula 1 season? If so, when do you believe he will sign it? Will he do so within the next few weeks? Which team, if any team, will Raikkonen, who has not won a race since he started his second stint driving for Ferrari in the 2014 season, drive for next year?

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