At the 2021 Turkey Grand Prix, Alfa Romeo threw away a potential point after its driver Antonio Giovinazzi failed to act according to the team’s instructions twice. In the final phase of the race, he did not let team mate Kimi Raikkonen pass him, even after the team had given instructions.
ADVERTISING
Article continues under this ad
DIVE DEEPER
The fiasco began on lap 52 when Giovinazzi was asked to relinquish the position to Kimi. The team made this decision because Kimi was obviously faster than Antonio. The plan was to swap positions on Turn 1 in the next round. But on lap 1 Giovinazzi did not slow down or give up his position. Halfway through the next lap he was told again: “Antonio, change position, as Kimi is about a second faster”. Antonio also disregarded this team order.
ADVERTISING
Article continues under this ad
Alfa Romeo engineer comments on the failed position swap
Xevi Pujolar, Head of Route Development at Alfa Romeo, commented on the incident. He said he doesn’t understand why Giovinazzi didn’t switch positions with Kimi. According to Xevi, if they caught up with Ocon and walked past him, they would have traded back.
Formula 1 F1 – Monaco Grand Prix – Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco – May 20, 2021, Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen in action during practice REUTERS / Gonzalo Fuentes
“It wasn’t ideal for the team,” said Pujolar.
“I didn’t quite understand why we couldn’t swap at this point, because in the end we can change it back depending on the situation.
“It’s important for us to get the points and Kimi’s pace was strong back then.”
Raikkonen wasn’t too happy about the whole ordeal
The drivers did not speak publicly about the incident after the race. But in the radio communication between Raikkonen and his engineer after the checkered flag, disappointment sounded. The Finn commented: “Maybe we should think about it a little earlier”. Here it related to the decision to swap the cars.
Formula 1 F1 – Hungarian Grand Prix – Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary – July 29, 2021, Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen during a press conference before the Hungarian Grand Prix via REUTERS / Florion Goga
The final ranking of the race shows that Raikkonen crossed the finish line five seconds behind Antonio. However, this is partly due to a few mistakes Raikkonen made on the very last lap, and also because he was lapped and therefore had to swerve to make way for the faster cars.
ADVERTISING
Article continues under this ad
WATCH HISTORY: What are sprint races and where are they held?
Given that Raikkonen was almost a second per lap faster than Giovinazzi as he got closer, it’s pretty safe and he would have caught up with Ocon and passed him to take a point.
ADVERTISING
Article continues under this ad
The post Alfa Romeo F1 engineer accuses Giovinazzi of obstructing Raikkonen at the Turkish GP first appeared on monter-une-startup.
Did you miss our previous article...
https://formulaone.news/alfa-romeo/connecting-the-dots-on-a-possible-michael-andretti-f1-team-ownership-deal
