Amid the many bright lights of the F1 world, Antonio Giovinazzi was a driver who has been a lot under the radar lately. The Alfa Romeo man may not have set the world on fire with his results. But his improvement over the last season has been impressive.
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The Italian has managed to keep his teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who won the championship, busy and has even done better than him on a few good occasions. With the Finn at the end of his career, Alfa Romeo boss Frederic Vasseur believes Giovinazzi is ready to fill Kimi’s shoes.
With 20 years of experience, it will be almost impossible to replace Kimi. But Vasseur believes Antonio could be the right man to lead the team in the future.
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Formula 1 F1. Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna. Autodromo Enzo and Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy. Antonio Giovinazzi from Alfa Romeo runs around the track ahead of the Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna REUTERS / Jennifer Lorenzini
When asked if Giovinazzi is ready to replace Raikkonen and take on the role of an experienced driver who offers a point of reference, Vasseur said (translated via Google): “I think so. The feedback Antonio guarantees us is solid. “
Alfa Romeo boss highlights the change Antonio Giovinazzi has made to improve
Raikkonen had convincingly beaten Giovinazzi in his first F1 season. But last year, especially at the back end, Antonio’s performances were on par with the 2007 world champion.
This development has carried over to this year as well. Antonio currently has the team’s only point in the campaign to date with an impressive P10 result in Monaco.
Vasseur revealed that a change in approach brought about this development. He said, “Probably one of the problems he suffered from in the past was trying to focus on Kimi as a reference. I think the big change was the decision to focus solely on himself and the work he is capable of.
Formula 1 F1. Monaco Grand Prix. Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco. Antonio Giovinazzi from Alfa Romeo in action during training REUTERS / Gonzalo Fuentes
“It’s not a given because we know that the first point of reference for any driver is their teammate, but Antonio has changed his approach and we’ve seen the results. Now he’s in a solid position on the team, and that’s important for the team too. “
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Alfa Romeo itself has taken quite a step in the performance department this year. They’ve grown from competing with Williams and Haas to a team that has a legitimate shot in the top 10.
It will be interesting to see which of their drivers finish the season with the boastful rights. Giovinazzi has the advantage at the moment but kills Kimi at his own risk.
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