Who has the Ferrari X Factor for 2017?

Ferrari could set up a television talent show-style judging panel to cope with the number of CVs that will drop on the doormat at Maranello over the course of the next 12 months.

Kimi Raikkonen may have secured a deal to race alongside Sebastian Vettel for next season but from 2017, the Finn's seat is up for grabs again. And there will certainly no shortage of takers, especially given Ferrari's current trajectory as the closest challenger to Mercedes.

There is a chance Ferrari will keep Raikkonen for another year. The Finn and Vettel get on well, there's a harmonious atmosphere within the team and Raikkonen has shown in flashes that he's still got the speed.

But what Ferrari needs is consistency and that's something Raikkonen has yet to deliver since rejoining the outfit last year.

The Finn has scored just under half the number points of his team-mate in 2015, retired five times to Vettel's one, and managed two podiums to his team-mate's 12.

Qualifying also makes grim reading, with Vettel coming out on top 14 times in 17 attempts. A major turnaround would be required for the Finn to convince his bosses to keep him.

Daniel Ricciardo was linked with the seat next year and should be high up on the list. The Australian turned up at Red Bull and beat his more decorated team-mate Vettel. In 2014, he had three chances to win a race and seized all of them. He has the speed, which has been evident since his Toro Rosso days, and this season has proved he is capable of motivating and delivering when a team is struggling.

Ricciardo proved himself up against Vettel in 2014 © LAT

Though Ferrari will be wary of the impact bringing in the only man to have beaten Vettel as a team-mate over the course of a full season will have on their star driver, the German will not only have learned from that experience but will also have had two seasons to have settled in at Maranello.

The only real question mark hanging over Ricciardo is his ability to cope with the pressure of a world title fight. But based on what we've seen so far, you'd expect him to cope with the challenge.

Valtteri Bottas is also a serious contender. The Finn has shown mental toughness, exemplified by brilliantly holding off Vettel in the closing stages of the Bahrain Grand Prix to take third. But the Williams driver has failed to kick on this year, with veteran team-mate Felipe Massa proving to be a match.

Bottas only edges the qualifying head-to-head nine-eight and has scored just nine points more than the Brazilian, who has got stronger and stronger since his rebirth at Williams.

The speed Bottas showed in qualifying last year has not been sustained this term either and while he says he no longer feels pain from the back injury he sustained in Australia, he has admitted he'll have to do back exercises for the rest of his career. How much does the injury affect him, either consciously or subconsciously?

Nico Hulkenberg will surely be under consideration, but like Bottas, the German has faced stiff competition from his team-mate and his results over the course of the last 18 months have stagnated.

He has scored two-thirds of his Force India team-mate Sergio Perez's points total and has only finished ahead of the Mexican six times to five when both have seen the chequered flag.

Hulkenberg and Bottas are two more contenders © XPB

Hulkenberg is very quick and has made significant steps in tackling his struggles with rear-tyre management. But aside from the purple patch he enjoyed after his Le Mans win, the German has become more inconsistent and error prone this year. Three crashes in four races is hardly ideal.

When considering contenders for a Ferrari seat, drivers in a new team wouldn't ordinarily come into play. But Haas recruits Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez will fancy their chances given the close association between the two outfits.

Grosjean's talent is now well-proven. He excelled in the latter part of 2013, coped with a miserable '14 and then grabbed a shock podium at Spa in August with a car that was similar to the one Lotus rolled out in Melbourne.

This term he has comprehensively beaten team-mate Pastor Maldonado, who is a very quick driver, in qualifying, leading the head-to-head 16-1 and he has scored close to double the amount of points.

Grosjean knows the move puts him in the shop window for Ferrari, with the Scuderia having access to all his data. He'll also have the opportunity to work with the team and build a closer relationship. It's like an apprenticeship - and he has the pace to make a real impression.

Gutierrez will have the same idea, of course. Joining Haas after a year as Ferrari reserve, he has the head start of getting to know the personnel at Maranello.

Throughout his time at Sauber he was unspectacular and never really showed the speed and consistency required to be a contender. But he was given a second chance by Ferrari, which helped him get the seat at Haas, and though he is an outsider the platform is there to force himself into serious contention.

Grosjean could use Haas as a stepping stone to a Ferrari drive © XPB

And then there's Max Verstappen, the wildcard if you will. It's understood he has a long-term contract with Red Bull, but can a deal be done if Ferrari comes calling?

Poor reliability early in the season made it difficult for him to find a rhythm and he has had the odd lapse in judgment, such as his Monaco crash with Grosjean.

But he has been on a roll since Hungary, twice coming close to a maiden podium and regularly putting his team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr in the shade to clock up a tally of points nearly three times that of the Spaniard.

The Toro Rosso driver has dealt well with the pressure that comes with being the son of a former F1 driver, brushed aside claims he is too young to be racing (he'd be 19 at the start of the 2017 season) and not been afraid to say what he thinks and stand up for himself should anyone question his approach.

Ferrari does not traditionally pick drivers with so little experience and you could argue a move to a big team after just two full seasons could harm rather then help his career long term.

But if Verstappen keeps delivering and coping with the pressure in the fashion he is currently displaying, concerns about his age will be overcome and Ferrari could find itself with a dream team.

The Italian outfit has much to think about.