2019 Review – Antonio Giovinazzi: Everything Still to Prove
The end of the year is approaching, and it is time to analyze the drivers' performances in 2019. Motors Inside offers you a look back at Antonio Giovinazzi's season, who was completing his first full season in Formula 1 after two races as a substitute in 2017.
Antonio Giovinazzi is not a rookie in the same way as Alexander Albon, George Russell, or Lando Norris. Indeed, the Italian has already raced in 2017. He was a reserve driver for Ferrari and replaced Pascal Wehrlein for two races at Sauber at the start of the season.
Being a driver for the Ferrari Driver Academy, he benefits in 2019 from the collaboration between Sauber and Ferrari through the Alfa Romeo brand. He is thus promoted to a full-time seat for a complete season alongside the highly experienced Kimi Räikkönen, who has just swapped seats with Charles Leclerc.
The task promises to be tough for the Italian, who must succeed the very talented and well-liked Monegasque driver and must also learn and gain the upper hand over the formidable Finnish driver as an opponent in the race.
Very quickly, numerous questions arise about Antonio Giovinazzi’s abilities to become a future champion. His start to the season is catastrophic. He cannot keep up in qualifying and in races, he is always beaten by his teammate. It will take until the ninth round of the season, at the Austrian Grand Prix, for him to score his first point. He will again collect a few points at his home Grand Prix by finishing in ninth place, then in Singapore (10th) and in Brazil (5th).
If the start of the season for the second Alfa Romeo driver wasn’t as lively as expected, he initiated his progression after the summer break. With his car evolving little, he managed to be persistent and raised his performance level in qualifying to the point of regularly gaining the advantage over Kimi Räikkönen. He even led the Singapore Grand Prix for a few laps. The highlight of his season was a fine fifth place secured in Brazil after a thrilling and well-managed race.
Finally, the Italian driver managed to straighten things out at the right time and convinced Frédéric Vasseur (with Ferrari’s support) that they should rely on him in 2020. He narrowly avoided losing his seat to Nico Hülkenberg. Despite everything, his record is disappointing with 14 points scored and a 17th place in the championship. Even though he managed to qualify 9 times out of 21 ahead of his teammate, he was clearly outperformed in races. The numbers speak for themselves, 16 to 2 in favor of Kimi Räikkönen in the 18 races they finished together. Antonio Giovinazzi will need to significantly raise his level next year if he wants to continue in F1.
