Giovinazzi wants more ‘time to learn’

Antonio Giovinazzi

(GMM) Antonio Giovinazzi will soon look better alongside his Alfa Romeo teammate Kimi Raikkonen.

That is the view of team boss Frederic Vasseur, after the Italian struggled to shine early in 2019 during his first full season on the grid.

Giovinazzi actually raced twice for Sauber in 2017 when Pascal Wehrlein was injured, but he says he is still getting up to speed now.

"There are so many aspects to study and learn," he is quoted by f1sport.it.

"It's quite complicated so I need time to learn everything. It is not easy to return after two years without racing."

However, he said being compared at every race to Raikkonen, the oldest and most experienced driver on the grid, is actually helpful.

"I look at his data to try to understand what I can improve," said Giovinazzi.

"I think things will all fall into place and in the end it will be much easier to get a good result."

Alfa Romeo boss Vasseur says a lot of Giovinazzi's problems so far have been the team's fault.

"Some technical issues and therefore missed track time meant that he could never get comfortable and get the best out of the car, but especially in Australia in Q1 he showed how fast he is," he said.

"Everyone just needs to be a bit patient and I'm sure he'll come around."