Raikkonen retained by Ferrari for 2018

Ferrari has announced Kimi Raikkonen will remain with the team for the 2018 Formula 1 season after signing a new contract.

Raikkonen – who was world champion with Ferrari in 2007 – returned to Maranello at the start of the 2014 season as partner to Fernando Alonso before the Spaniard left for McLaren. Over the past three seasons he has enjoyed a strong working relationship with Sebastian Vettel, although has failed to match the German in terms of results.

While Vettel currently leads the drivers' championship, Raikkonen is 86 points adrift of his teammate in fifth place. However, following back-to-back podiums at Silverstone and the Hungaroring – the latter as part of a one-two – Ferrari has extended the Finn's stay for another year.

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"Scuderia Ferrari has renewed its technical and racing agreement with Kimi Raikkonen," the team announced via a short statement. "The Finnish driver will therefore race for the Maranello team in the 2018 Formula 1 World Championship."

Raikkonen also finished second to Vettel at the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this season, where the Finn took his first pole position since the 2008 French Grand Prix. He has yet to win a race since returning to Ferrari, finishing on the podium 11 times in 70 races over the past four years.

Ferrari's announcement means attention will now turn to Vettel's future, with the four-time world champion currently out of contract at the end of the season and yet to agree a new deal.

Of the other race-winners currently on the grid, Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes and Fernando Alonso at McLaren have also yet to have their respective futures confirmed. Toto Wolff said the summer break would be a good time for Mercedes to take stock of the driver situation, while Alonso has suggested he will not make a decision on his future until September at the earliest.