Raikkonen and Giovinazzi retained by Alfa Romeo for 2021

Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi will remain with Alfa Romeo for the 2021 Formula One season, the team announced on Friday.

The pair will now be team-mates for a third season, during which 2007 champion Raikkonen will celebrate his 42nd birthday, in a move which Alfa Romeo believe "highlights the team's commitment to continuity".

"Alfa Romeo is more than a team to me, it is like a second family," said Raikkonen, who this season surpassed Ruben Barrichello's record of 322 F1 starts.

"So many of the faces that were around me when I made my Formula One debut in 2001 are still here and the unique atmosphere of this team is what gives me that extra motivation to keep going in what will be my 19th season in the sport.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe in the team's project and in what we feel we can achieve together. This is a team that values hard work over words and this fits well with my style: I am looking forward to next year and hopefully making some steps forward towards the front of the midfield with the team."

The show goes on pic.twitter.com/qVV2acs5Xl
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 30, 2020

Team principal Frederic Vasseur said of Raikkonen: "I still see the passion and motivation in him every time I see him at work. He can be trusted to deliver 100 per cent of what the car can produce and he is a true leader for the people working around him."

Alfa Romeo go into this weekend's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix eighth in the constructors' standings with five points – 72 fewer than AlphaTauri in seventh.

I've always been seeking the thrill of speed because it gives meaning to my life. Whatever is your thrill, hold itTogether again, even more a TESTA ALFA #AG99 #tuttipazzipergiovinazzi #F1 #AlfaRomeoRacing #ORLEN #AlfaRomeo pic.twitter.com/ZlCZsj8jT4
— Antonio Giovinazzi (@Anto_Giovinazzi) October 30, 2020

Giovinazzi said: "The team has put a lot of faith in me and I have done my best to repay this confidence with hard work and commitment: we have achieved some good results and I feel I have done my part to make the team progress, but the road ahead is still long and there is much more we want to achieve together.

"There will be a lot of continuity between this season and the next one, so everything we work on between now and the end of the year will already count for next, and we are ready to give it all we have."