Raikkonen in the race as Leclerc brings the young to Ferrari

LONDON (Reuters) – Kimi Raikkonen will not come out of Formula One, or even with a high-level team.

The announcement on Tuesday that the 2007 World Champion leaves Ferrari, the oldest, most glamorous and best-performing team in the sport, was only at the end of the season.

It was less the case during the next revelation that 'Iceman', 38, signed a two-year contract to continue with Sauber, Ferrari driver, in an exchange with the rookie Monaco Charles Leclerc.

That will close a circle at least, the Swiss team being the one who made his debut in Raikkonen in 2001, despite the powers, fearing to be too inexperienced and keep the race in quarantine.

It will also appeal to Formula One owners, already facing the retirement of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, retaining one of the most famous and popular drivers on the starting grid.

But the time when Raikkonen could hope for poles and victories, already rare even at Ferrari where Sebastian Vettel is the main competitor and where the orders of the teams have been applied, is certainly over.

Sauber was last in 2017 and is ninth out of 10 teams now, although the signs are more encouraging than they were, and it is likely that Raikkonen will now just dial the numbers.

The Finn will still enjoy the race with less media attention and more freedom, while for Ferrari, there are also obvious benefits.

For the first time in four years, they now have a new benchmark for four-time champion Vettel and a (very) young driver who represents the future rather than the past.

Vettel has always surpassed Raikkonen since the start of the match in 2015 with the departure of the Red Bull German and the Finn is already 62 points behind this season with seven races remaining.

If Raikkonen has been more competitive this year, winning nine podiums and a pole position at the Ferrari Italian Grand Prix with the best lap in Formula One, there are those who wonder if Vettel is pushed hard enough.

Some even wonder how fast German is.

Ferrari hopes that Leclerc, aged 20, unless asked to adopt a servant role, can exert a little more pressure and help answer these questions.

The bet is that the relative inexperience of the young could have an impact, in the short term at least, on the hopes of the championship of its manufacturers while it is subjected to a scrutiny.

After a quick Sauber season, Leclerc is a very promising prospect, but his arrival breaks with Ferrari's recent preference for age and experience.

The last time Ferrari started a season without a race winner in both cars, it was in 2006 with the Brazilian Felipe Massa recruited alongside seven-time champion Michael Schumacher after three years at Sauber and one in reserve.

Leclerc is part of a wave of hungry young drivers, including Max Verstappen, 20, of Red Bull, and 18-year-old British rookie, Lando Norris, of McLaren.

The passage from Raikkonen to Sauber is not good news for other young people, with a seemingly secure seat for the next two years.

Esteban Ocon, 21, supported by Mercedes, who is at risk of losing his seat at Force India, or Stoffel Vandoorne, has been ruled out.

"I have mixed feelings. I'm delighted that Kimi stays on the track, but I especially hope that Kimi has moved away from the top of the standings when he was revered, leaving a young man to sit on the grid, "said Martin Brundle, commentator for Sky Sports.