[NeilP]

Having sat back and had a think about this I feel its a good move:

A) Leclerc is an upcoming driver and the trend of getting people into the cars at a younger age is upon us like it or not. Personally I have always thought if you are good enough age should not matter (either older or younger).

B) The reality is Raikkonen is not a very top driver any more, he is good for sure but Ferrari need a better driver than him to challenge for the Constructors championship although of course in the short term I may have to swallow my words. Leclerc potentially has a great future my gut feeling is he will absolutely be up there with Verstappen in future years and the Hamilton Vettel era could well be replaced with the Verstappen/Leclerc era (Incidentally my thought process tells me this MAY push Max more towards Mercedes for his next contract)

C) Keeping Raikkonen in the sport is good for the health of F1 he has a strong following. I do realise he is taking up space for a potentially young driver but he would also be a great mentor. I am hoping that is the end of Marcus Ericsson and may as I said above allow Antonio Fuoco or Antonio Giovinazzi to be a Sauber driver next season.

D) It will kick Vettel in the backside, no longer can he accept his teammate is there for him but for himself. I think that can only be good for Vettel, may give him an edge he is missing. It could of course go the other way but I dont think so.