Formula 1: Is Charles Leclerc still an option for Ferrari in 2019?

Is it still possible that Ferrari will sign Charles Leclerc as Kimi Raikkonen’s replacement for the 2019 Formula 1 season?

The rumors surrounding who Scuderia Ferrari might sign to be the teammate to four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel next season have been pretty much endless throughout this summer.

In fact, these rumors have been publicized at such a rapid rate that they recently started negating one another. In June, it was revealed that Ferrari were ready to replace 2007 Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen, Vettel’s current teammate, with Alfa Romeo Sauber rookie Charles Leclerc.

Just over one week later, this situation reportedly developed into Leclerc and Ferrari agreeing on a contract. However, it was also reported that the 2016 GP3 Series and 2017 Formula 2 champion did not yet sign this contract.

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But since the sudden passing of former Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne, a big fan of the 20-year-old Monegasque who was eager to have him replace the 38-year-old Finn as soon as possible, these rumors have done a 180-degree turn.

The most recent rumors are that Raikkonen, who has driven for Ferrari since the 2014 season and is in his third consecutive season driving for the team on a one-year contract, is set to sign a two-year contract extension in the very near future to remain with the team through at least the 2020 season, which is the final season of Vettel’s current contract with the team that he signed last summer.

But at this point, only one thing is certain. Nothing has been confirmed, meaning that anything is still possible — and that is far from a rumor.

Leclerc, the Ferrari Driver Academy member who has racked up five top 10 finishes, including a career-high sixth place finish, and 13 points through the first 13 races of his rookie season, which is a blistering pace by Sauber standards in recent years, has been tipped to replace Romain Grosjean at Haas next season.

However, this is largely due to the fact that recent rumors suggest that the Maranello-based team will re-sign Raikkonen. Leclerc has been so impressive in his rookie season driving for Sauber to the point where if he does not replace Raikkonen at Ferrari, he will likely still be promoted to the mid-pack Ferrari-powered team as opposed to being retained by the backmarker Ferrari-powered team.

But if Ferrari end up not re-signing Raikkonen, which is still very much a possibility because there has still not been anything confirmed regarding his future beyond the conclusion of the 2018 season, Leclerc would become the overwhelming favorite to replace him.

In other words, yes, signing Leclerc is still on the table for the Scuderia for 2019, as it has not officially been ruled out by anyone.

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Which rumor will end up being correct? Is signing Charles Leclerc truly still an option for Ferrari for the 2019 Formula 1 season, and if so, will they sign him, or will they sign Kimi Raikkonen to yet another contract extension? At this point, it is anybody’s guess.

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