Ferrari chairman on Sebastian Vettel’s future with the Scuderia. Ferrari CEO happy to extend Sebastian's contract.

Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne is more than willing to renew Sebastian Vettel’s contract if the four-time Formula One world champion is ready to continue with the Maranello team for the next years. Sebastian Vettel, who is currently in his third year with the Italian team , is leading the F1 championship by 20 points over Lewis Hamilton ahead of the 2017 British Grand Prix and has scored all of Scuderia Ferrari’s six wins during the last three years.

At the end of last Formula 1 season there were many rumours regarding the fact that Sebastian Vettel would want a move to rivals Mercedes once his current contract with Scuderia Ferrari ended, but that was before the Maranello team returned to the front of the grid as a serious contender for the title. Italian-Canadian executive Sergio Marchionne, who sent a strong warning to Sebastian Vettel’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen on Sunday, said the door is open for the German driver to sign a new contract for 2018 and beyond, if he intends to continue his career with the Italian side:

“I have been very clear in the case of Sebastian because also he’s different. I don’t know, I haven’t talked to Kimi about what he really wants, but in the case of Sebastian, if he wants to continue to race, I made it very clear that if he wants to stay, we’ll just renew it. It is up to him.” – the Ferrari president explained, as reported by Italian national sports newspaper based in Rome Corriere dello Sport on Monday.

Whether or not Kimi Raikkonen will want and have the possibility to remain as Sebastian Vettel’s teammate is less clear and Sergio Marchionne said he would soon enter into discussions with the Finn regarding his future with Scuderia Ferrari and his plans for the 2018 Formula One season: “I think all options are on the table at this moment. We are going to continue discussing this with Kimi. But I made it very clear if Sebastian wants to stay, then it was his option.” – the CEO of Ferrari and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles concluded, as reported by the Italian media this morning.