Ferrari has announced that it is to retain Kimi Raikkonen alongside Sebastien Vettel in 2016.

A brief statement issued today, just ahead of the B3elgian GP weekend, read:

"Scuderia Ferrari announces that it has renewed its technical and racing agreement with Kimi Raikkonen. The driver line-up next season will still consist of the Finnish driver and Sebastian Vettel."

Team boss Maurizio Arrivabene has consistently cast doubt on Raikkonen's future with the team, but a strong performance in Hungary, coupled with other car failures the Finn has suffered and a lack of a seriously dynamic replacement, appears to have convinced the Italian to maintain the status quo.

With the Finn widely thought to be key to the 2016 driver market, Williams Valtteri Bottas long linked with the seat, today's news appears to throw a spanner in the works as far as the plans of several teams and drivers are concerned.

Indeed, with the formula largely unchanged next year, ahead of numerous changes in 2017, most teams may opt to follow Ferrari's example and retain their current line-ups.

"What can I say," said Raikkonen following the announcement. "For me, to be able to stay another year at Ferrari means that the dream goes on.

"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 continued support."

"We believe that extending Kimi's contract into the next season will provide further stability to the team," added Arrivabene. "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."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by SideGlance, 19/08/2015 22:36

"I agree with other poster, McL should tell JB their answer and it is best they keep him. He is great for sport and team, he deserves NOT the treatment of last year, but Ronny has his quirks and twitches, so who knows! "

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2. Posted by SideGlance, 19/08/2015 22:32

"Truly hard to know if this is the best decision outside of the team, but no one can say that when motivated DaKimster can be fabulous ! I wish him well & hope he kicks some Seb butt too !!"

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3. Posted by Yeyox02, 19/08/2015 21:33

"Cheers Kimi !!"

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4. Posted by TheBucketOfTruth, 19/08/2015 18:43

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it. They'd be fools to mess with this dynamic after just one year."

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5. Posted by Rock Doc, 19/08/2015 18:16

"Great decison by Ferrari, I was getting a little worried. The Timing is also good. Now Kimi and Ferrari can get on with the second half of the season without all the media questions.

This year we are seeing totally different Ferrari team. Manning up to issues, better strategy and now sensible timing of important decisions. McLaren could take a tip from this new Ferrari team and let Jenson know sooner rather than later (hopfully following suit and keep the current pairing). Last year was insulting to fans and the drivers."

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6. Posted by Roope, 19/08/2015 16:49

"Well done Ferrari. The only common sense decision was made. Why brake the harmonious driver pairing of the two fastest F1 drivers. Continuity is essential for developing the 2016 Ferrari F1. Moreover, continuity will also imprrove the team work and the desired results will come."

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Official: Raikkonen remains with Ferrari

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