Sauber star Charles Leclerc is the right man to replace Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari

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  • It is not often a young driver comes into the balmy parametres of Formula One and sparks into life so early into their rookie season. Max Verstappen showed signs of his class with Toro Rosso in 2015, but a young Monaco resident named Charles Leclerc has emerged as the real jewel of the sport this season.

    The former GP2 and GP3 champion has demonstrated maturity beyond his years in his first three months in F1 and has gone on to score four top-10 finishes in eight races, including a stunning sixth place in Baku.

    Although he may struggle at times with a Sauber team who finished last in the drivers’ standings in 2017, the 20-year-old has to start from somewhere and this season is the perfect building block to his future development.

    But before the season has reached its midway point, Leclerc is already being tipped to replace Kimi Raikkonen at the Italian marque in 2019 – after just eight races into his maiden campaign.

    It would make sense for Ferrari to sign the youngster as he would require a low salary while also offering a long-term plan in the team’s quest to win a first world title since 2008.

    Although Raikkonen has been on the podium four times this season, he has not won a race since the Australian Grand Prix in 2013. And for a driver on the third highest annual salary ($40m), the 38-year-old does not justify his position as an elite driver with the second best team in the sport.

    And with his inconsistent form not close to the level of Sebastian Vettel, he has only been rewarded with single year contract extensions in each of the last three seasons.

    In his 16th season, the Finn’s time may be up as the Prancing Horse lean towards promoting Leclerc to a race seat.

    Ferrari have considered replacing Raikkonen with Daniel Ricciardo but the cost of hiring the in-form Australian would be too high when added to Vettel’s wages ($60m), thus leaving the team with a choice of Raikkonen or Leclerc – who currently earns a misely $150,000 per annum – in stark contrast.

    Raikkonen is still Ferrari’s most recent world champion, but his dip in his form has coincided with Leclerc’s season sprouting into life, with promising performances in Baku, Barcelona and Canada.

    In Baku, Leclerc sealed a career-best sixth place, showing great race-craft and composure to fend off two-time world champion Fernando Alonso towards the end of the race.

    But for all the hype about his rise, is it too early to promote a rookie 20-year-old to the second biggest team in the sport? If Raikkonen does stay for another season it would allow Leclerc more time to learn at Sauber. The Swiss outfit may not be as quick as their competitors but the experience, confidence and general driver intelligence he would gain is only going to help his future development.

    If a deal does go through for Leclerc in 2019, it would shift away from Ferrari’s policy of recruiting well-known names and swap a driver with 281 grand prix starts and 95 podiums – the third most of any man behind the wheel in history – for a youngster who is preparing for his ninth GP this weekend in Austria. It would also be the first time a Ferrari Academy Driver makes it into an F1 race seat with the Scuderia.

    A final decision is far from made, but Leclerc is one of a kind, is fearless and has the full repertoire of skills to see him win multiple races in the future.

    With such hope around his ability, he needs to continue to showcase his talents with Sauber and not allow outside talk to affect his overall displays for the rest of the season.

    It may be too early to say, but in a red Ferrari, Leclerc would be a potent force.

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