With Formula 1 anticipating the imminent announcement of Charles Leclerc as a Ferrari driver in 2019, it appears a post on Facebook may have leaked the news.
Rumours suggested a meeting was due to take place in Italy on Thursday in which the Monegasque would be confirmed as replacing Kimi Raikkonen next season, leading to fans tracking Twitter all day.
Ultimately, nothing happened but now a post by Lapo Elkann, brother of Ferrari chairman John, has apparently congratulated Leclerc on his new drive.
“Proud to have believed in you since the debut in F1,” a post on Lapo’s Garage Italia company Facebook read and was quoted by F1i.com.
“Proud to have accompanied you on the track, corner after corner. Happy to see you soon at the wheel of the red Charles Leclerc.”
Unsurprisingly, it was quickly taken down and replaced with another in which Elkann “hopes it comes true soon” but given the nature of that first post, it’s more than likely a premature confirmation.
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As the situation is currently understood, Ferrari is still weighing up whether to abide by a contract signed by former chairman Sergio Marchionne for Leclerc to be a race driver in 2019.
The new leadership is keen to maintain Raikkonen for another year, with a petition launched online gathering huge support calling for just that, and could offer compensation to the 20-year-old Sauber driver to delay that contract for one more year.
