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Arrivabene: Leclerc, Giovinazzi need to prove themselves for Ferrari F1 seat

After re-upping Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel's contracts for 2018, Ferrari chief Maurizio Arrivabene calls on youngsters Charles Leclerc and Antonio Giovinazzi to prove themselves in F1.

Maurizio Arrivabene feels that Charles Leclerc and Antonio Giovinazzi must prove themselves in Formula 1 before being considered for a seat with Ferrari in the future.

Ferrari announced at the end of last month that Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen would be retained for the 2018 season, having agreed new contracts for three years and 12 months respectively.

Both 2016 GP2 runner-up Giovinazzi and current runaway Formula 2 leader Leclerc were linked with the seats for 2018, with the duo being leading stars of Ferrari's junior programme, but Arrivabene saw no reason to change the existing line-up.

"[Vettel and Raikkonen] went through the last three years with great co-operating within them. They feel very good together, being part of the team and translating this spirit to the overall team," Arrivabene said.

"I think we don't find any reason why not confirming them together.

"Talking about the young drivers, they are growing. Our objective is to of course to grow up young drivers and maybe to see them in the future with us.

"This is the final goal. But, before that, they need to demonstrate in Formula 1 that they deserve it."

Zdroj: crash.net