Ferrari is in negotiations with Sauber to place not one, but both its top junior drivers with the Swiss outfit next season.
With Antonio Giovinazzi and Charles Leclerc no longer having anything to prove in the lower echelons of racing, Ferrari considers both its protégés are ready for the big time.
With Sauber the only available opportunity to graduate the Scuderia's hopefuls, team boss Maurizio Arrivabene traveled to Hinwil last week along with Ferrari President Sergio Marchionne to discuss a potential Giovinazzi/Leclerc line-up.
"We need space because we have a couple of young drivers that are exceptional,"said Marchionne.
"We need to find a place to lay the foundations for the Scuderia Ferrari of tomorrow."
Sauber team boss Fred Vasseur has expressed his interest in running either junior driver with the support of Ferrari, the team's technical partner although he cast aside the notion that the Swiss squad will be the Scuderia's de facto 'B' team.
Ferrari's plans obviously put into doubt the future of Sauber's current drivers.
While Pascal Wehrlein's chances of racing in F1 next year are quickly fading, it was believed that Marcus Ericsson would retain his seat given the close relationship the Swede enjoys with his benefactors Longbow Financial, which also own Sauber.
Ferrari appears to favour a grouped apprenticeship for Giovinazzi and Leclerc, a state of affairs which would perhaps help the Scuderia judge its young talent more clearly.
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