Sauber driver Charles Leclerc will take Kimi Raikkonen’s place at Ferrari for the 2019 F1 season, the team has confirmed.

“Scuderia Ferrari announces that in the next Formula One racing season, Charles Leclerc will drive for the Team alongside Sebastian Vettel,” said team principal Maurizio Arrivabene in a statement.

The 20-year-old has been handed the opportunity just 14 races into his first full season of Formula 1.

Leclerc, who is a Ferrari development driver and the reigning Formula Two champion, has impressed the team since he joined F1 with Sauber at the beginning of this year. He has consistently out-qualified his experienced team mate Marcus Ericsson and scored 13 of the team’s 19 points.

“Dreams do come true,” said Leclerc on social media. “I’ll be driving for Scuderia Ferrari for the 2019 Formula 1 world championship.”

Leclerc thanks the team, his family and two significant figures in his life who died in recent years.

“I will be eternally grateful to Scuderia Ferrari for the opportunity given. To Nicolas Todt for supporting me since 2011. To my family.

“To a person that is not part of this world anymore but to whom I owe everything of what is happening to me, Papa. To Jules [Bianchi], thank you for all the things you learnt me, we will never forget you, and to all the persons that supported me and believed in me.

“I will work harder than ever to not disappoint you. But first, there is a season to finish with an amazing team that gave me the opportunity to fight and show my potential. Let’s go Sauber.”

Leclerc’s Sauber team principal Frederic Vasseur congratulated him on the move.

“It has been a great pleasure to support Charles Leclerc in his rookie year in Formula One,” he said in a statement. “Since his arrival, he has given the team great motivation.

“We have constantly improved and we will work hard until the end of this season to achieve the best possible results together. We are aware of Charles’ talent and are confident that he will have a bright future. We will keep on following him closely and we wish him the best on his path.”

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2018 F1 season