Ahead of the British Grand Prix, Scuderia Ferrari has announced that they will retain Kimi Raikkonen for 2017 alongside Sebastian Vettel.
There was much speculation regarding the future of the 2007 World Champion, but Ferrari has put faith in the Finnish driver for another year, with the Finn racing in his 100th Grand Prix with the Maranello team this weekend.
Raikkonen has been somewhat off the pace of his team-mates since his return to Ferrari but obviously the Ferrari bosses still believe Raikkonen has the pace to compete with Vettel and the Mercedes drivers.
With Sebastian Vettel secure for 2017, Raikkonen’s Ferrari seat was key to the change in the driver market, with the likes of Sergio Perez and Romain Grosjean linked with the Ferrari seat.
The announcement was made on Friday morning, ahead of FP1 at the British Grand Prix. The news will end the whirlwind of speculation around the paddock and Ferrari can now focus on chasing down Mercedes.
Before the announcement Raikkonen says he still believes the team can win this season after a relatively poor start to the season compared to the 2015 campaign.
At the age of 36 and with 240 starts under his belt, Raikkonen brings valuable experience to the team and it is well documented that his relationship with Vettel is very good.
