As we enter the second half of the Formula One season, it is inevitable that speculation surrounding the futures of the drivers on the paddock starts to crank up.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen is more than used to drill by now, having been in F1 since 2001 and now in his second stint at the Prancing Horse.

Despite winning the World Championship in his first season with the Italian team in 2007, he has often played second fiddle in the team more recently, with Fernando Alonso and now Sebastian Vettel seen as the number one drivers.

Despite a number of high-profile, costly errors over the last couple of seasons, Vettel is widely expected to be retained as the premier driver as he continues to battle Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton for the title.

Raikkonen remains one of the most consistent drivers on the circuit, having finished fourth last season and currently sitting in third position this year ahead of Mercedes' second driver and compatriot Valtteri Bottas.

But despite another solid season and strong current form, which saw the Ice Man only narrowly edged out by Hamilton at Monza last time out, the rumours are Raikkonen will be allowed to leave at the end of the year.

Sauber's Charles Leclerc is the favourite to take the Finn's seat next year in a possible swap deal.

Feeling that Raikkonen is being hard done by, his fans have done something rather strange to try and keep at the Scuderia.

A petition on Change.org campaigning for Ferrari and Maurizio Arrivabene to extend Raikkonen's driving contract beyond the current 2018 season has reached a remarkable 75,000 signatures - and this figure is growing every day.

Started by user Christy John, the petition states: "Replacing Kimi Raikkonen just because of an existing deal made by the previous Ferrari head is not justifiable while Scuderia Ferrari's current Head and Sebastian Vettel need Kimi to keep the balance in the team.

"Kimi has also outperformed Vettel number of times proving he is back on form and his drive in Monza just adds more credibility to that."

The latest post from the petition reads: "Our petition has currently garnered over 75k signatures.

"Thank you to all the supporters and let's keep it going... I know there is no way an online petition will directly affect the internal affairs of Scuderia Ferrari, but it still points fingers at what PR value they would be losing and how it will affect the public consensus towards the team and the Sport if they go against the only justifiable option.

"Scuderia Ferrari and Formula 1 certainly would consider all that before making a decision. So let's not lose hope and show them our strength."

Unfortunately for Raikkonen fans, it's highly unlikely to sway Ferrari bosses, especially when a lot of contracts are agreed months in advance of the new season.

There's no doubt that Ferrari would be losing one of the grid's most dependable drivers, but the Finn is in the twilight of his career and is only going to fall further behind his nearest rivals as he gets older.

And with other teams such as Red Bull opting for youthful lineups, Ferrari may well be following suit, despite the best efforts of Raikkonen's loyal fanbase.