Kimi Raikkonen will continue to partner Sebastian Vettel in 2016 after Ferrari confirmed they have chosen to take up the Finnish driver’s contract option.
A number of drivers had been rumoured to replace Raikkonen, namely Valtteri Bottas, Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo, following a number of poor races for the 35-year-old.
Meanwhile a number of high profile figures in the sport, including former Ferrari sporting director Cesare Fiorio and former driver David Coulthard, called for Ferrari to oust Raikkonen in favour of younger talent.
However team principal Maurizio Arrivabene has thrown his support behind the 2007 champion who, despite having less than half his team-mates point tally, will race for Ferrari for at least another season.
“What can I say. For me, to be able to stay another year at Ferrari means that the dream goes on,” Raikkonen said.
“The Scuderia is my family, as I always said, it’s here I want to end my career.
“I am more committed than ever and I want to say thank you to the people who gave me this chance.
“Also, a big thank you goes to all my Ferrari fans, for their continuous support.”
Arrivabene added: “We believe that extending Kimi’s contract into the next season will provide further stability to the team.
“This has been our guideline, also considering the very good relationship between Kimi and Seb.
“On our side, this shows our great confidence in him, and I expect this confidence to be well rewarded”.
