Valtteri Bottas has been singled out as the ideal replacement should his countryman Kimi Raikkonen depart Ferrari.
Multiple Italian media sources agree that, notwithstanding speculation Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg are also in the running, it is Williams’ Bottas who is first in line in the event fellow Finn Raikkonen is ousted.
On the new cover of Italy’s Autosprint magazine, a ’photoshopped’ Bottas is even depicted in red overalls, with the caption that Raikkonen should "wake up!" if he wants to stop the image becoming a reality in 2016.
Bottas, 25, would be paired with Sebastian Vettel, and team boss Maurizio Arrivabene said Ferrari has no regrets as it looks into the future in the wake of the Fernando Alonso era.