Formula 1: Antonio Giovinazzi to drive for Sauber in 2019
By Asher Fair
Antonio Giovinazzi is set to become Kimi Raikkonen’s teammate at Alfa Romeo Sauber in the 2019 Formula 1 season. He has never driven full-time in the sport before.
Two weeks ago, it was confirmed that Alfa Romeo Sauber rookie Charles Leclerc would be leaving the Swiss team and signing with Scuderia Ferrari as the replacement for 2007 Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen in the 2019 Formula 1 season.
It was also confirmed that Raikkonen would not be retiring after the end of the 2018 season but signing with Sauber instead. Now it has been confirmed that his teammate will be current Sauber test driver Antonio Giovinazzi.
Here is what the 24-year-old Italian had to say about the matter, according to ESPN.
"“I am delighted to be joining the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team. This is a dream come true, and it is a great pleasure to have the chance to race for this team. As an Italian, it is a huge honour for me to represent a brand as iconic and successful as Alfa Romeo in our sport.“I would like to thank the Scuderia Ferrari and the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team for giving me this great opportunity. I am very motivated and cannot wait to start working towards achieving great results together.”"
Here is what Sauber team principal Frederic Vasseur had to say about the matter, according to ESPN.
"“We are very pleased to reveal the complete driver line-up for the 2019 season. We first signed Kimi Raikkonen, an extremely experienced driver who will contribute to the development of our car and will accelerate the progress of our team as a whole.“Together with Alfa Romeo, we are delighted to welcome Antonio Giovinazzi, who will take the place of Charles Leclerc. We have already had the opportunity to work with him in the past and he has proven to have great potential. We are very determined and motivated. Our target is to continue progressing and fighting together for positions that count.”"
Giovinazzi has made two starts in his Formula 1 career so far. He made these two starts to open up the 2017 season as the replacement for the injured Pascal Wehrlein. He finished in 12th place in the season opener, the Australian Grand Prix, and crashed in the second race, the Chinese Grand Prix. In addition to test driving for Ferrari and Sauber this season, he test drove for Ferrari and Haas last season.
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Because of Sauber’s title sponsorship deal with Alfa Romeo, Ferrari have the right to select who one of the team’s two drivers will be while Sauber have the right to select who the other one will be. This past season, Ferrari chose Leclerc while encouraging Sauber to also sign Giovinazzi. However, Sauber re-signed Marcus Ericsson, who has driven for the team since the 2015 season.
But given the fact that Raikkonen signing with Sauber was his decision as opposed to Ferrari’s decision considering the fact that he very well could have retired, this gave Ferrari the right to select Sauber’s other driver. Unsurprisingly, they selected Giovinazzi. So while Giovinazzi is technically Ericsson’s replacement, he is really replacing Leclerc, which he was tipped to do a few weeks ago.
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How will Antonio Giovinazzi perform in the 2019 Formula 1 season in what is set to be his first season as a full-time driver in the sport? The season is scheduled to begin on Sunday, March 17, 2019 with the Australian Grand Prix.