Kimi Raikkonen to stay with Ferrari in 2018 despite previous criticism but Sebastian Vettel still in limbo

Raikkonen was described by Sergio Marchionne as 'a bit of a laggard' last month but has done enough to earn another year in the Ferrari cockpit

Kimi Raikkonen will remain with Ferrari for the 2018 Formula One season (Getty)

Kimi Raikkonen will remain with Ferrari for the 2018 Formula One season, the Italian manufacturer announced on Tuesday, just six weeks after their president criticised the former world champion and described him as a “bit of a laggard”.

Raikkonen, who turns 38 years old before the end of the current season, was due to be out of contract in three months’ time but will remain with the Scuderia for a fifth consecutive year after his return in 2014.

Ferrari issued a short statement to confirm the announcement, which read: "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.”

The decision is not a complete surprise, although it does call into question the Finn’s relationship with Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne given his previous comments made at the Austrian Grand Prix last month.

“I think Kimi has got to show a higher level of commitment to the process,” Marchionne told reporters. “There are days when I think he's a bit of a laggard, but we'll see.”

However, Raikkonen’s re-appointment does not completely lift the uncertainty at Ferrari, given No 1 driver and current world championship leader Sebastian Vettel has not yet signed a deal for next season.

Vettel has spoken positively about the prospect of staying with the Maranello outfit, and given his prospects are somewhat limited, it would be a major shock if he were to leave Ferrari. Mercedes already have Lewis Hamilton signed up for 2018, with motorsport boss Toto Wolff hinting at keeping Valtteri Bottas following his impressive debut year with the reigning world champions, while Red Bull have both Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen tied down, with the only previous prospect of them leaving coming if Raikkonen was not retained by Ferrari.

Vettel won the Hungarian Grand Prix to stretch his championship lead (Getty)

The rest of the 2018 grid are unlikely to offer Vettel a competitive drive, and while Fernando Alonso remains available with the Spaniard yet to confirm his future after three disastrous years at McLaren Honda, Vettel would be mad to leave a team that currently offers him a championship-winning car if the standings are anything to go by.

Vettel, who won the last grand prix in Hungary before the summer break, leads Raikkonen by 86 points in the drivers’ championship, while his gap to second-place Hamilton extended to 14 points ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.