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Raikkonen signs one-year contract extension with Ferrari

Kimi Raikkonen has signed a one-year contract extension with Ferrari for the 2018 season, the Formula One team confirmed on Tuesday.

Raikkonen signs one-year contract extension with Ferrari
ANDREJ ISAKOVICAFP

Kimi Raikkonen has signed a one-year contract extension with Ferrari for the 2018 season, the Formula One team confirmed on Tuesday.

New agreement for Raikkonen

“Ferrari announces that Scuderia Ferrari has renewed its technical and racing agreement with Kimi Raikkonen. The Finnish driver will therefore race for the Maranello team in the 2018 Formula One World Championship”, a team statement read.

Raikkonen's signature comes after he chased home Sebastian Vettel in a dominant Ferrari display in the Hungarian Grand Prix in his most recent outing. Vettel, who increased his lead over Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton to 14 points, has yet to confirm his plans for 2018. His contract expires at the end of the year but the German is expected to keep his easy partnership with the Finn intact for 2018.

Kimi Raikkonen on the podium in Budapest last month.
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Kimi Raikkonen on the podium in Budapest last month.ANDREJ ISAKOVICAFP

“I think I have been public on the Sebastian matter, if he wants to stay he is more than welcome to stay”, Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne said following last month's Hungarian Grand Prix.

For Raikkonen, Tuesday's deal secures his fifth consecutive season with Ferrari after an initial spell at Maranello when he captured the world title in 2007. He is placed fifth in the 2017 drivers' standings on 116 points ahead of Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.