Formula 1: 5 possible landing spots for Kimi Raikkonen in 2019
By Asher Fair
Scuderia Ferrari
While Kimi Raikkonen currently has the longest active win drought among the seven Formula 1 drivers who have won at least one race throughout their careers, as he has not won any of the 106 races in which he has competed since he won the 2013 Australian Grand Prix, he is still a very valuable asset to Scuderia Ferrari.
It is no secret that Raikkonen is Ferrari’s #2 driver behind four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel, and they have used him as such since Vettel left Red Bull Racing and joined Ferrari in the 2015 season.
While Vettel has not yet been able to capture his fifth career Formula 1 championship driving alongside Raikkonen at Ferrari, it would be hard to get Raikkonen to do a better job at being a team player than he has over the past few seasons.
There was talk in June about Raikkonen potentially being replaced by Alfa Romeo Sauber rookie Charles Leclerc next season. However, since it was revealed that Ferrari were ready to replace Raikkonen with the 20-year-old Monegasque, the 38-year-old Finn has racked up five consecutive podium finishes, something that he hasn’t done since the 2007 season, his championship season.
No other driver has racked up five podium finishes in the last five races, and only one driver, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton, has racked up four.
Don’t be shocked to see Raikkonen sign a one-year deal for the fourth consecutive year to remain with Ferrari for the sixth consecutive season and ninth season overall in what would be his 17th season in the sport next year. But if that doesn’t happen, which other competitive Formula 1 team might Raikkonen end up driving for in the 2019 season?