F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Elkann jumps the gun, congratulates Leclerc on Ferrari drive!

A company owned by the brother of Ferrari chairman John Elkann spilled the beans on Charles Leclerc on Facebook, congratulating the driver for his imminent arrival at Ferrari before scrapping the message.

Garage Italia, an automotive customization company founded by flamboyant businessman Lapo Elkann, clumsily anticipated an official announcement, expected any day now, of Leclerc's move to Maranello with the following message:

"Proud to have believed in you since the debut in @ f1," read the Garage Italia post on Facebook.

"Proud to have accompanied you on the track, corner after corner. Happy to see you soon at the wheel of the Red @charles_leclerc ".

The company subsequently deleted the post and replaced it with another message in which it "hopes that the dream comes true!"

After a formative year in Formula 1 with Sauber and a string of impressive results, Leclerc is set to replace Kimi Raikkonen at the Scuderia, the Italian squad apparently following up on a deal to promote the Monegasque initially put together by former Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne.

Reports emerged earlier this week that Raikkonen was told of his fate at Monza last weekend by Ferrari's Elkann, while the announcement of a deal with Leclerc is imminent.

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Antonio Hype

Recent Posts

Williams' headaches persist into Vegas practice

Williams is continuing to fight uphill battles this weekend in Las Vegas as a knock-on…

46 mins ago

Ferrari's Sainz 'not satisfied with where we are' in Vegas

It was a solid start to the Las Vegas weekend for Ferrari with Carlos Sainz…

2 hours ago

Norris labels McLaren long-run pace ‘shocking’ in chilly Vegas

Lando Norris didn’t hold back in his assessment of McLaren’s performance on the opening day…

3 hours ago

Hamilton delighted with ‘consistently strong day’ in Vegas

Lewis Hamilton was particularly happy with his opening day of running at the Las Vegas…

4 hours ago

Verstappen stuck with 'draggy' rear wing for Vegas

Red Bull fears that its prospects for this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix - which…

5 hours ago

Ferrari and Mercedes admit to plank changes based on FIA’s TD

Ferrari and Mercedes have both modified their car’s floor element in Las Vegas to comply…

6 hours ago