Kimi Raikkonen will remain at Ferrari next season despite a difficult return to the Italian team.

The 2007 world champion, whose future had been in doubt, will continue to partner Sebastian Vettel in 2016.

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas had been heavily linked with a move to replace his fellow Finn's seat, but Ferrari have confirmed their driver line-up will remain unchanged.

Bottas had been among a list of drivers Ferrari had considered following concerns that Raikkonen's form, particularly during qualifying, had been less than impressive.

The other options weighed up by Ferrari were Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg. However, the cost of signing any of the trio would have been prohibitive due to the severance payments owed and Raikkonen has been retained despite ongoing concerns about his suitability for the job.

A short statement from the team released ahead of this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix read: "Scuderia Ferrari announces that it has renewed its technical and racing agreement with Kimi Raikkonen.

"The driver line-up next season will still consist of the Finnish driver and Sebastian Vettel."

Raikkonen has been overshadowed by team-mate Vettel, who was victorious last time out at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Finn has scored only 76 points in comparison to Vettel's 160 after 10 races.

But the announcement should ease the pressure on the 35-year-old ahead of the second half of the season, which gets back under way in the idyllic setting of Spa-Francorchamps this weekend.

And it is a track where Raikkonen has fared well. He has won in Belgium on four previous occasions – more than any of the current crop of grands prix drivers.