Where is Maurizio Arrivabene headed to next? Are the Sauber links true? 

The 2018 Formula 1 season was a dampener for Ferrari. The sport's most famous racing marquee was unable to lift the world championship once more and Sebastian Vettel bowed down fighting Lewis Hamilton for the title, yet again.

Yet, there were a few improvements in certain areas for the Maranello-based outfit. For starters, it was a Ferrari and not a Mercedes that set the sport's fastest-ever lap in the form of Kimi Raikkonen's blazing Monza lap which made sparkling headlines.

Next, they secured wins at tracks where previously Mercedes have often demonstrated familiar grit - such as Montreal, Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps, Circuit of the Americas - which spoke of the contributions of a certain Maurizio Arrrivabene.

Kimi celebrates after his win at last year's US Grand Prix in October

Alas, none of that would eventually culminate in Ferrari gaining their first world championship since Raikkonen's 2007 triumph. And on top of that, it didn't help one bit either that the Team Principal, Arrivabene was ousted right at the start of 2019. That said, the fact that Arrivabene has been sacked by Ferrari is a piece of old news now. What isn't is the prospect of what the future holds for him.

After his Ferrari exit, where next for the 61-year-old?

Where paddock grapevine is concerned, it appears as though the former Ferrari team principal may have found a role at Sauber, a team for which Kimi will race alongside Antonio Giovinazi this upcoming season.

But just how are these rumours - if at all they are that - emerging, one might ask? Germany's Auto Bild recently reported that Arrivabene may end up with a Sauber role. While there's no official confirmation yet, it can be said that should this occur, it might not be a bad sight after all.

Arrivabene's relationship with Kimi make for a good driver-team principal duo as the pair understand each other and communicate well. Could this help Sauber in their efforts to up their game from the visible improvements that were evident in 2018? There's little reason to doubt that.