Ferrari have confirmed that Charles Leclerc will replace the outgoing Kimi Raikkonen to partner Sebastian Vettel next year.
The 2017 Formula Two champion Leclerc has impressed in his debut season in Formula One, with a string of good performances for Sauber. After some early-season struggles, Leclerc has made it into Q3 in qualifying on three separate occasions, while scoring points five times in 2018. His best race of the season came in Azerbaijan, where he finished sixth.
Leclerc has drawn praise from four-time world champions Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. ‘The races he’s had so far, he has used his opportunities, scored points with a car that doesn’t belong in the points,’ said Vettel.
Hamilton, meanwhile, said that Leclerc ‘has the potential to do great things and you can’t say that about every kid who has come through in the past years’.
Leclerc will become one of the youngest ever drivers to race for Ferrari, and the first Monegasque driver to do so. He also becomes the first Ferrari Driver Academy graduate to be promoted to the senior Ferrari team since the scheme was launched in 2009.
Photo: F1.com
