Sebastian Vettel has signed a new contract with Ferrari, tying the German to the team for a further three years until the end of the 2020 season. Vettel’s contract was due to end this season and on Thursday he had said he did not expect there to be any announcement in the next two weeks. However, clearly Ferrari wanted to make their position known as soon as the deal was concluded.

Vettel said: “I love this team, I love the people working for this brand. I believe Ferrari have something unique. People talk about a legend and this legend is still alive because of the people that work for it day in and day out. If you walk down the streets of Maranello the presence of Ferrari is huge but if you meet the people working there it is even bigger. Their passion for the brand – it allows them to go an extra step compared to other teams, it is extremely great to be part of that family. It was a no-brainer to continue, we haven’t yet achieved what we want to achieve but things are looking pretty good and we have along road ahead of us.”

There has been speculation over the driver market for next year but, following Tuesday’s announcement that Kimi Raikkonen has signed a deal for next season, the team have moved to ensure both their drivers are able to fully focus on the nine remaining races.

Vettel, leading the championship by 14 points from Lewis Hamilton, had been expected to continue with the Scuderia for at least one more season. However, Ferrari have secured his services for a full three-year programme.

The 30-year-old joined Ferrari in 2015, having won four world championships with Red Bull between 2009 and 2014. He was pleased with his first season with the team in a relatively competitive car when he won three races and finished third in the world championship. However, last year he was obviously frustrated with an underperforming car, leading to speculation about his future and links with a possible move to Mercedes.

At Spa, Niki Lauda, the nonexecutive chairman at Mercedes confirmed there had been talks. “We discussed it briefly once with him, but the more competitive Ferrari goes the less the reason he would want to leave,” Lauda said. “So therefore we stopped right away a couple of months ago. Every driver, if he’s clever, talks to more than one team. Then when you negotiate you’re in a better position. That’s what he did.”

Ferrari’s entry in 2017 is indeed more competitive. They adapted well to this year’s new regulations and are in a close fight with Mercedes for the title. Vettel has led at every round of the season, has four wins and has been revelling in a car that has proved competitive and superior to the Mercedes on certain tracks.

Mercedes had not announced whether Valtteri Bottas, on a one-year deal, would remain with the team yet. With Vettel now committed to Ferrari, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo under contract with Red Bull for next season and Lewis Hamilton signed to Mercedes until 2018, it looks increasingly likely that they will confirm Bottas for a further season sooner rather than later, settling the lineup at the top three teams.