Formula 1: Why Antonio Giovinazzi is deserving of another season

Despite his struggles in Formula 1 this season, Alfa Romeo Racing rookie Antonio Giovinazzi has shown potential that has gone unnoticed by many observers.

Antonio Giovinazzi has had a rather underwhelming start to life in Formula 1. The Ferrari development driver was given a tough ask going up against former world champion Kimi Raikkonen while also trying to emulate the performances of the departed Charles Leclerc, but nonetheless, he has disappointed.

A highly rated junior who placed second in the 2016 GP2 Series driver standings behind only Pierre Gasly, Giovinazzi then impressed as a simulator driver at Maranello over the past two seasons.

However, when he was thrust into the spotlight with a seat at Ferrari-affiliated Alfa Romeo Racing, it took him until the 2019 season’s ninth race, the Austrian Grand Prix, to earn his first point. Throughout the following period, Raikkonen simply went about his work, amassing numerous strong point-scoring finishes. But Giovinazzi continued to struggle for pace and consistency.

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A week after scoring his first point at the Red Bull Ring, Giovinazzi put his Alfa Romeo into the gravel in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit, and it began to look like his Formula 1 career could be over before it had really even started.

But a closer look at Giovinazzi and his body of work in Formula 1 so far this season paints a slightly different picture. While his rivals have been fine-tuning their race pace and wheel to wheel skills over the past two seasons, Giovinazzi has been sat in a simulator. Barring an outing at Le Mans and a few races in 2017, Giovinazzi has been starved of racing experience. It is therefore not unexpected that his racecraft struggled early on.

When assessing his qualifying pace, his seeming incompetence next to Raikkonen is put into a fairer context. Since the summer break, he has outqualified his teammate twice and the overall head to head is only 10-6 in Raikkonen’s favor.

A last-lap incident in the Belgian Grand Prix cost him an eighth place finish and a collision with Daniel Ricciardo in the Singapore Grand Prix ruined his best performance in Formula 1 to date, but the signs of improvement are there.

Since Formula 1 returned after the summer break, Giovinazzi has registered two point-scoring finishes while Raikkonen hasn’t been able to add to his 31 points.

Looking to next season, Alfa Romeo Racing do have a few options, but given Raikkonen’s age, Giovinazzi should not be ruled out from retaining his seat. Mick Schumacher needs at least another season in Formula 2 to justify a promotion to Formula 1 and despite Nico Hulkenberg’s availability, it is unlikely that Ferrari will allow him to fill a seat they control unless they bring him into their program.

The Formula 1 midfield has been highly competitive this season, and with Alfa Romeo Racing having one of the weaker cars, Giovinazzi’s lack of experience and race rustiness has meant that matching up to a seasoned campaigner in Raikkonen has been difficult.

With Renault and McLaren clearly superior, Racing Point resurgent and Haas occasionally quick, Raikkonen has had to use all of his guile to amass the number of points he has been able to. Whether a driver with less knowledge and consistency would have shown Giovinazzi up to such an extent is hard to say.

What is clear, however, is that Giovinazzi is slowly reaching the level where he can compete with a world champion and someone who was winning races as recently as last season. Furthermore, he has shown a clear curve of improvement throughout the season, and should he be able to continue on such a trajectory, he could end the year with the better of his opponent.

Formula 1 rarely gives drivers more time than they deserve, but in the unique case of Antonio Giovinazzi, another season could very well prove transformative.