Why Alfa's ousted F1 driver can be "happy" despite losing his drive

People like Antonio Giovinazzi don't really make it to Formula 1 nowadays. A native of a small South Italian town Martina Franca, he's one of the few of the series' debutants in recent years who don't fit the mould of what Lewis Hamilton famously described as a "billionaire boys' club". Forget buying his son an F1 team - Giovinazzi's father couldn't afford to pay for a season in Formula Abarth.

So did the now former Alfa Romeo driver believe 10 years ago, at the end of his karting career, that he would one day make it to F1 and spend three seasons on the grid, partnering Kimi Raikkonen?

"I would go back to the time even before that,” he says, laughing in response to the question as Autosport sits down for an exclusive chat in the Alfa hospitality unit before the start of his penultimate race for the team in Saudi Arabia. “When I was a kid, my dream was to arrive to F1. I was convinced that if you have a talent and work really hard, you can achieve that. But as I was growing up I started to be more realistic about it. It's only 20 drivers, you need a lot of luck and a lot of money.

“So in 2011, no, I wouldn’t believe. I was 17 and still in karting, my main priority was simply to become a professional driver, just to get paid from this sport. This was my main target.”

It was Giovinazzi's "second father" who financed his career beyond karting. In 2011, he crossed paths with Ricardo Gelael, whose son Sean was racing against the Italian. Eventually, Giovinazzi became Gelael's coach, and his racing career was now supported by the Gelael family's Jagonya Ayam brand. What followed was a move to Indonesia, a stint in Asia-based racing, a return to Europe and entry into Formula 3. But even when Giovinazzi was winning races in one of the most prestigious junior series out there, his goal still wasn't F1.

“In 2011, before Gelael took me to the single-seaters, [the goal] was just to become a professional driver in karting,” admits Giovinazzi. “They have a lot of drivers that are still racing at 31, 32. And they get paid.

Linking up with the Gelael family, initially by coaching Sean Gelael (left), offered Giovinazzi an opportunity to progress up the single-seater ladder

Photo by: Motorsport Images

“But then when I jumped into the car, in Formula Abarth, I said why not [try pursuing a career in cars]? In F3 I was racing alongside DTM and thought that it would be nice to be a manufacturer driver there. Actually, I almost signed for Audi in 2015. We thought with my father that if they call us, this is already way above expectations. But then there was the Dieselgate and they stopped taking new drivers. But as one door closed, another – even bigger one – opened for me, because I went to GP2 with Prema [in 2016], again with Jagonya Ayam.

“It was their first year and they wanted fast drivers. They took one experienced with Pierre [Gasly] and a rookie, but like me, a fast driver that was coming from Formula 3. Nobody expected [Prema] to have a strong car... But I raced against them in F3 and they were always really strong in every category, Formula 4, Formula 3. When I saw a chance to go with them, I said we need to be there, because I'm sure they can have a great car and they can do a great job. In the end [it] was the best team that year.”

He didn't score at the first two rounds, but won both races at Baku to kickstart a superb rookie season, and also won the feature races at Monza and Sepang.

"You don't race for almost three years and then jump in Formula 1, that is the top category. So it wasn’t ideal, but in the end I couldn't change anything" Antonio Giovinazzi

“I won the third race, was fighting for the championship until the last round,” continues Giovinazzi, who finished second to Gasly by just eight points. “And then, in the end of the year, I had a call from Ferrari.”

The F1 dream was fulfilled at the very start of 2017, when Giovinazzi stood in for the injured Pascal Wehrlein in Melbourne and Shanghai, yet he'd still have to wait another two years for his real F1 chance. He'd had to cede his place in the Ferrari queue to Charles Leclerc, the 2017 Formula 2 champion, but luckily the Monegasque needed just one season at Alfa Romeo to bag himself a Ferrari F1 deal.

In 2019, after two years featuring little competitive experience, Giovinazzi finally secured a place in an F1 team's racing roster. But that two-year gap he admits really complicated matters when he started out at Alfa Romeo.

“I think the first year [after GP2 in 2017] was not too bad,” he explains. “It was the first year in Formula 1 paddock, so to come to the track and watch meetings with [Sebastian] Vettel and Kimi in Ferrari, you know, was great for me. I was a young driver and watched how they work and everything was okay.

Giovinazzi made his F1 debut with Sauber as a stand-in for Wehrlein in the opening two races of 2017, but it was another two years until he landed a regular drive

Photo by: Motorsport Images

“But the second year was really tough. In the end I only did Le Mans in 2018, it was a really long season. And when I signed [with Alfa] for 2019, the first half of the season I was a little bit lost, especially in the race, in wheel-to-wheel battles. You don't race for almost three years and then jump in Formula 1, that is the top category. So it wasn’t ideal, but in the end I couldn't change anything.”

Giovinazzi's progress in his second season was somewhat concealed by Alfa Romeo's struggles. The Ferrari power units lost power after the "secret" agreement between the Scuderia and the FIA, and he scored just four points - compared to 14 in his rookie season. But Raikkonen had finished 2020 with the same tally. Giovinazzi had closed in on the Finn in terms of race pace, while in qualifying he was already faster for the most part, outqualifying Raikkonen 9-8 in their head-to-head.

"The second year we struggled with the car, but for myself I'm sure I improved a lot,” he says. “This year, again, I did another step, improved myself, but Formula 1 is like this, you know, you need to be in the right time with the right car and with the right luck.”

Luck wasn't on Giovinazzi's side in 2021. He insists this season was his best F1 season by far, but the numbers paint a different picture. He scored just three points, his worst record in three years of F1, compared to 10 for the retiring Raikkonen.

“Because of this I'm really disappointed, we didn't achieve what we deserve,” reflects Giovinazzi. “We went three [four including Jeddah] times in Q3, we were most of the races in Q2. And last year we went to Q2 just two times, but we still achieved four points!

“This is my best year in terms of how I feel, in terms of performance, but actually it's the worst year in terms of points. When you work really hard for a year, when you do well on Saturdays, but then on Sundays for one reason or another you never achieve what you want, it's hard.”

Racing drivers love to bring up bad luck as an excuse. But in the case of Giovinazzi's 2021, it's hard to disagree with him. At Imola, he heading for points when a visor tear-off stuck in a brake duct forced an extra pitstop. In Barcelona he spent half a minute stationary in his pitbox, because one of the tyres his mechanics were preparing to fit on the car was found to be punctured.

Extra pitstop at Imola while on course for points was an unhelpful setback

Photo by: Alfa Romeo

The team itself would let him down, too. In Monaco a sub-optimal strategy cost him a couple of places, in Turkey he wasn't warned that he was starting the final lap and thus ran out of time to attack Esteban Ocon. In Mexico, he had fought his way through to sixth after the chaotic start only to be thwarted by a strategy error - a poorly-timed pitstop that sent him back out into traffic meant he finished 11th.

“You know, Imola was the second race, Barcelona was fourth. At one point I just said to myself ‘okay, it will turn around, it can’t always be like this,’” Giovinazzi says. “But it never turned around! We never had a race where we could say luck was on our side. Unfortunately it's like this, but what can we do?”

He did, however, have his opportunities to improve his position in the standings in early autumn, when for two consecutive events in Zandvoort and Monza he reached Q3. But both times things went awry in the opening laps. In the Netherlands, he lost three positions trying to avoid contact with Carlos Sainz Jr, then at Monza he once again battled the Spaniard but was unable to avoid a clash - and smacked his car against the barrier. Had those events turned out differently, the standings could have painted a much more positive picture.

“When you start P7 especially in this new Formula 1, if you start in the front it's much more easy to finish in the front because overtaking is not easy,” he says. “If you just do your job and the strategy is okay, you can finish in the points.

"I'm okay with myself, because I know that when I left Formula 1, I was almost at the level of Kimi. This makes me just proud of what I did. Unfortunately it ends like this, but with myself, like I say, I'm happy, 100%" Antonio Giovinazzi

“Of course we know that we were P7 [at Zandvoort], but some faster cars were starting on the back, so they could gain the positions at the end of the race. But lap one I was with Carlos, he closed the door and I had to slow down and lost three positions there. Monza same thing, you know, I cut the second chicane and then again with Carlos... For sure, yeah, watching back, these are two races that we could do better.

“But again, Imola we were P8 and a tear-off compromised our race. Monaco we were P8 and we finished P10, and Barcelona… you never know in Formula 1 what can be your end result. With all the things that happen to us, you know, it's difficult to explain [what went wrong]. But it's like this unfortunately. And this is the big disappointment, especially as I finish this championship when I feel better with myself, with the car, with everything.”

Giovinazzi does have things to brag about from his 2021 campaign. He was the only Alfa Romeo driver to make the final qualifying segment this year and won his qualifying head-to-head with Raikkonen 13-7. It's the comparison with the 2007 world champion that gives him the most reason to feel proud.

Giovinazzi shone in qualifying, making Q3 in back-to-back races at Zandvoort and Monza

Photo by: Alfa Romeo

“When I started to watch Formula 1 it was 2001 and I was big fan of Ferrari,” explains Giovinazzi, who ran a tribute helmet to Raikkonen in Abu Dhabi. “Then [Raikkonen] came to Ferrari and he's still the last championship that they won with him. And I still remember that race [the Brazilian Grand Prix] in 2007. I watched it at home with my dad, and I was really happy. I still remember how the situation went, and I was really happy. For sure he was one of my idols, especially in the years that he was racing in Ferrari.

“To compare myself with him is the best thing for me, because he’s always been consistent and fast, in the race especially. If I see myself in the first year and where I am now, I can really see progress. He was the best possible team-mate for my career in Formula 1, because I never had to compare myself with a rookie or not a really fast driver.

“I came here and it was Kimi Raikkonen, a world champion. So I'm okay with myself, because I know that when I left Formula 1, I was almost at the level of Kimi. This makes me just proud of what I did. Unfortunately it ends like this, but with myself, like I say, I'm happy, 100%.”

He's still hoping to return to Formula 1 - the same way Esteban Ocon already has and Alex Albon is preparing to do with Williams next year. Giovinazzi will spend next year in Formula E, but intends to keep one foot in the F1 door by helping Ferrari on the simulator and attending races as its reserve driver.

Can he really come back as a race driver? Right now it's difficult to foresee. But even if he doesn't return, his departure is no reason to lament the end of an F1 career he never believed he would have to start with. All things considered, his three seasons were something to be proud of.

Giovinazzi doesn't know if he'll get another shot at a race drive, but is pleased to have had a shot at all

Photo by: Alfa Romeo