Giovinazzi will leave Alfa Romeo’s Formula 1 team after three years with the team at the end of the season and will accompany Dragon for his first Formula E season together with ex-Formula 2 driver Sergio Sette Camara.
After the end of the morning race on Tuesday, the Italian finished 15th in the time table, although he was considered far back in the order during the race simulation.
After the first day of testing and the race on Tuesday morning, Giovinazzi felt that he still had “a lot to learn” in order to get the most out of his Formula E machine, and underlined the differences between himself and driving in F1.
“It’s a completely different category,” said Giovinazzi. “I’ve driven so many cars, GT cars, LMP2, F1 and then got into this car, everything feels so different.
“Yesterday I was pretty confused and had to learn a lot. But the main problem for me is braking, because in F1 everyone can really attack so much when braking because you also have so much downforce.
“And here you cannot. So I struggle with it – but I remember when I drove the first car, the Gen 1, in 2018, it was the same.
Antonio Giovinazzi, Dragon Penske Autosport, Penske EV-5
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Giovinazzi admitted that the limited mileage during the test, in which he had a long time without sitting times during the qualifying and race tests, doesn’t leave him with enough preparation for the Saudi Arabia opener in January.
He will also miss the final day of testing in Valencia to travel to the first Saudi Arabia Grand Prix in Jeddah, but Giovinazzi hopes he can make up for lost time in the simulator.
“Yesterday afternoon [during the qualifying trials] I also lost a few laps, that wasn’t ideal, ”he said. “The same thing this morning, and I’ll also miss the last day on Thursday because I have to go to Saudi Arabia.
“So it’s not that great, but it will be like that and I’ll focus more on the simulation to get used to this car. I won’t have many kilometers before the first race.”
“In the first race I will try to do my best and do a lot of sim at the factory in December and January.
“It’s going to be a difficult part of the season for sure, but we’ll work really hard and try to be in good shape as soon as possible.
“I have two more weeks to drive in Formula 1, [after that] it’s Christmas time. But after Christmas I want to go straight to the factory and try to drive many miles in the Sim just to go through the procedure and everything all over again.
“There is not much time. Of course you always want more, but it will be.”
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