BREAKING: Kimi Raikkonen to leave Ferrari at the end of 2018!

2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen has decided to leave Ferrari at the end of the 2018 season. It looks likely that Charles Leclerc will take over his seat next season. The Finn will return to Sauber, where he started in 2001, next season. 

Breaking : Kimi steps down at Ferrari at end of season #skyf1 pic.twitter.com/dRXbsUJtm0

— Rachel Brookes (@RachelBrookesTV) September 11, 2018

Raikkonen's contract at Ferrari is not being renewed at the end of the 2018-season. The late Sergio Marchionne made it clear before his passing in July that he wanted to get Charles Leclerc in 2019, and the Italian team look to be granting that wish. At 38 years old, Raikkonen has had a glamorous career in F1, one that's really worth looking back on.

Career

Raikkonen, who earned the nickname The Ice Man during his career, has been a staple in F1 this century ever since he made his debut in 2001 for Sauber. The 38-year-old raced for four teams in total, including McLaren, where he won his first ever race in Malaysia in 2003, Lotus, where he went after coming back out of retirement in 2012, and of course Ferrari, his current team.

This season, Raikkonen has had sort of a rejuvenation. After a few years of seemingly slowing down and his age catching up to him, the Finn has shown tremendous pace in 2018.

Just last race at Monza, where it has been rumoured that he heard he was getting replaced by Charles Leclerc next season, he upset his teammate Sebastian Vettel by grabbing pole position. He was the oldest man in pole since a 41-year-old Nigel Mansell did it back in '94. He didn't manage to win the race due to Valtteri Bottas being sacrificed by Mercedes to hold him up so Lewis Hamilton could overtake him, but he did show that age is just a number for him.

Leclerc's announcement at Ferrari is imminent, and it will be very exciting to see how the young Monegasque will do for the Italian team, but we can't forget about Kimi. He's one of the greats and will add to his tally of 287 races next season. If he did leave, F1 would have lost both him and Fernando Alonso. Fans wouldn't have been able to cope!