Ferrari F1 sporting director Rivola confirms Driver Academy switch

Rivola is to replace Luca Baldisserri, who departed Ferrari last month to become a mentor to former FDA member Lance Stroll after the 17-year-old Canadian was appointed as Williams' new development driver.

In a letter to Scuderia Ferrari Club, a fan organisation of which Rivola is president, he wrote: "The rumours which have been circulating for a while are true, but I wanted you to be the first to know officially from me what Ferrari has decided: after 18 years of F1, of which 12 have been on the pitwall, it's time to make a pitstop.

"Motivated by a great professional challenge, along with the company, I have decided to take care of the renewal of the Ferrari Driver Academy.

"The farewell of a driver as symbolic as Jules [Bianchi] is the spark which means that today it is a real 'mission'.

"Also, thanks to my previous experience, I was fortunate to work with many drivers, and to do so when they were young, like Sebastian [Vettel] and Fernando [Alonso] to name a few.

"To think that the champions of tomorrow for Ferrari will grow in the Academy is just amazing.

"I have always supported thinking of the young, the Ferrarista of the future, and now we have one more tool to do it together."

At present, with Stroll at Williams and Raffaele Marciello also understood to have recently left, there are only two young drivers on Ferrari's books in Antonio Fuoco and Guan Yu Zhou.

Autosport understands, however, a rising star in European Formula 3 driver Charles Leclerc is soon to be confirmed as a new recruit.