Räikkönen leaves Ferrari for Sauber

It’s now “official”. Kimi Räikkönen will leave his starting position within Scuderia Ferrari at the end of the 2018 season. The 2007 world champion has defended the interests of the Prancing Horse since 2014 and has so far spent no less than 8 seasons with the team. of Maranello by adding the campaigns from 2007 to 2009.

As usual, Scuderia Ferrari contented itself with a succinct press release to announce the news.

“At the end of the 2018 season, Kimi Räikkönen will leave his current position, comments Maurzio Arrivabene, the main team of the Italian team. Kimi's contribution as a driver and for his human qualities was essential. He played a decisive role in the growth of the team and at the same time was always a dedicated driver for his team. »

At 38, Räikkönen will return to the team he started with, Sauber. The Swiss team confirmed the recruitment of the Finn for the 2019 and 2020 seasons following the announcement of his departure from Maranello.

« Signing Kimi Räikkonen is an important step in our project and will allow us to get closer to our objectives, namely to progress in the world hierarchy in the near future, declared Frédéric Vasseur, Sauber team principal. Kimi's undeniable talent, coupled with his immense experience in F1 will not only contribute to the development of our car but also accelerate the growth and evolution of our team. His arrival gives us solid foundations for 2019 where we will be determined to fight for big results ».

While Sauber lets go of a great hope of F1 in the person of Charles Leclerc, who is heading in the opposite direction to Maranello, the French manager achieves a great success by enlisting a driver whose record to date includes 20 victories, 18 poles and 100 podiums in 285 Grands Prix. His last success, however, dates back to the 2013 Australian GP when he played for Lotus F1.

Alongside Räikkönen, we should find the faithful Marcus Ericsson, with his connections with the owner of Sauber, unless Ferrari manages to find an agreement to place its reserve Antonio Giovinazzi.

Discover our file on the departure of Kimi Räikkönen and the arrival of Charles Leclerc in AUTO issue 2182hebdo, available now in digital version on all platforms, and on newsstands this Wednesday.