F1 Racing UK – August 2019

WORDSJAMESROBERTS

PORTRAITZAK MAUGER

ANTONIO GIOVINAZZI

IN CONVERSATION WITH

F1 RACING AUGUST 2019 69

Eight years have passed since an Italian driver last raced

full-time inFormula 1.After starting two races in 2017,

Antonio Giovinazzi has been given a full crack with Alfa Romeo

this season. As we approach F1’s traditional summer break

we caught up with Kimi Räikkönen’s newteam-mate...

“I CAN’TWAIT

FOR MONZA, BECAUSE

IT WILL BECRAZY

FOR MEAS AN

ITALIAN DRIVER

RACING THERE

IN F1”

Howwouldyoudescribeyourseason

withAlfaRomeosofar?

If you look at the points, it hasn’t been

the best start tothe season. At the

beginning we had a number of issues

and bad luck, so it was difficult to piece

everything together. For thepast two

years I’ve had a development role at

Ferrari where I wasn’t racing regularly

and instead working in their simulator

• so it was not easy to reset. In the
  last few races I’ve been happy in my
  performance and been quite close to
  Kimi Räikkönen. I just need to continue
  the hard work and the points will come.

ItlookedasthoughtheAlfachassiswas

strongto beginwith,buttherehasbeen

afallintheorderforthe teamsincethe

startoftheyear.Canyouexplainwhy?

Yes, wewere fast in pre-season and at

the very start, but the midfield is really

tight, so if one team finds a really small

advantage they’re able to jump a lot of

positions. We need to fight back in order

to try and get into the top ten.

Youha ve aformerworldchampionasa

team-mate.Whathave youbeenableto

learnfromKimi?

I was really happy to start my rookie

season with him alongside me. He’s

still fast and he most recently won a

grand prix last year, in Austin. He’s a

championship-winning driver with a lot

of experience. It is difficult to be close

to Kimi but I’m learning a lot from him.

We work well together andwith our

feedback we’re helping the teamtry and

improve the car race by race.

The main thing I’ve learned fromKimi

is he’s always quick. In qualifyinghe’s

always there, showing the real pace of

the car and nevermakes a mistake – his

experience comesout in those moments.

What’sthesituationwithAlfa’s

simulator?Hasonebeenbuiltyet?

We still don’t have a simulator and we

don’t use the Ferrari one either. It’s

something thatwe’re working on and

hopefully we might have one in place

next year. It’s quite an important tool

for the development of the car and we

could be a lot faster as a result. It’s

something we’re looking into.

Inmid-Juneyouweretherecipientof

the2019BandiniTrophy, presentedin

memoryofItalianracerLorenzoBandini.

Howdiditfeelto scoopthishonour?

I’m really honoured to be awarded this.

The first thing I did was to look at the

drivers who had won thisbeforehand

and it was unbelievable [former winners

include Michael Schumacher, Lewis

Hamilton and Fernando Alonso]. To be

part of that list is something that I’m

really proud of. Theysay that anyone

who gets the trophy also gets a little bit

of luck, so I’m hoping that will help me

for the rest of the season.

Andyoudrove yourF1caronthepublic

roadsofItalyforastretchof13km...

Yes, it was an amazing experience. I’m

a big fan of cycling and it felt a little like

I was on the Giro d’Italia – on a normal

road with so many people oneither side.

Plus, the course car in frontwas go ing

quite fast, so I enjoyed thespeed...

Howmuchsupportdoyougetfrom

backhome?

In Italy we have two fantastic brands in

Ferrari and Alfa Romeo and there isa

lot of support for me also. I can’t wait for

Monza, because it willbe crazy for me as

an Italian driver racing there in F1.

AfteryourshotatF1appearedto stall,

itmustbeareliefto ge tthechanceto

prove yourcredentialsatthislevel?

For the past two years, even though

I was working on the simulator for

Ferrari and doing some FP1 sessions,

I always worked tothe maximum of

my abilities. I never stopped training

and never gave up my focus and goal

to become an F1 driver. I got my

opportunity and now need to achieve

a good result.

CV

Age 25

NationalityItalian

2019

F1 with Alfa Romeo

2018

F1 testingfor Ferrari

and Sauber (5 days),

FP1 outings with

Sauber (6 GPs):

Le Mans 24 Hours

2017

F1 with Sauber (2

races), FP1 outings

with Haas (7 GPs), F1

testingfor Ferrari and

Sauber (3 days)

2016

Second in GP2 with

Prema, 5 wins;

WEC in LMP2

class (2 races);

Euro LMS (1 race)

2015

Second in European

F3 with Carlin, 6 wins;

DTM withAudi (2

races)

2014

Sixth in European F3

with Carlin, 2 wins

2013

Second in British F3

with Double R, 2 wins

2012

Champion inFormula

Pilota, China, 6 wins