RUMOUR: Raikkonen informed of Ferrari departure before Monza

The late Sergio Marchionne's wish was to have Sauber's Charles Leclerc driving for Scuderia next season, in place of current driver Raikkonen.

However, following Marchionne's death, Maurizio Arrivabene wished to keep the Finnish driver for another year, so talks began about a new contract for the 38-year-old.

A twist was on the cards, though, as new Ferrari president John Elkann informed Raikkonen that he won't be driving for Ferrari next season, before the race at Monza!

This undoubtedly had an impact on Raikkonen's decision not to sacrifice his Sunday race for Vettel due to him already being out of the team.

This perhaps was the reason Vettel seemed furious following Qualifying - because it's almost like he's now on his own fighting for this world championship against the ever-stronger Valtteri Bottas and world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Raikkonen said prior to the weekend in the official press conference that he has still not been told whether he will be with the Italian side for the 2019 season - but if this report is true; it wouldn't have been much longer before he was told!