Alfa Romeo will head into the 2021 season with the same driver line-up for the third consecutive year as Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi.  

2020 saw a vast improvement for the Italian driver as he outqualified Raikkonen 9-8 in the head-to-head battle and finished equal on points with his World Champion teammate as Alfa struggled to be a competitive force last year.  

In 2019 he ended up finishing 29 points adrift of the Finn and was outqualified 9-12 on a Saturday afternoon.  

Giovinazzi believes having Raikkonen as a teammate once again this year will enable him to continue to make gains in his own performance, particularly on a Sunday afternoon. The 41-year-old Finn beat the Italian in 12 of the 17 races as his experience and pace shone over the longer distance.  

"[With] Kimi again beside me next season I think I can still do another step," Giovinazzi said in an interview with Motorsport.com. 

"It will be really important to watch him because I think, like I've said many times, he's still one of the best on the grid, especially on the race pace and managing the race. I'm happy to continue with him." 

2019 was Giovinazzi’s first full season in Formula 1 and admitted that he very much followed Raikkonen’s lead when it came to all the various things throughout a race weekend. 

Last year, the Italian leaned on his experience of his maiden campaign and started to do what he wanted to do more often. He also believes that he will feel more confident when the season kicks off in Bahrain at the end of March. 

"When I came here [in 2019] I tried to focus more on Kimi's side," said the 27-year-old. 

"To see what he was doing and why he was doing [it]. And in the end I always followed him I would say. 

"But [in 2020] I'd got more experience and I know what they want and what I like more - especially in the different tracks and different conditions. 

"Experience makes a lot of difference in every category, maybe more in Formula 1. 

"I think I will feel more ready as well next season, after two years, and after a lot more races. 

"I just want to feel more comfortable with everything with the car, with the team. 

"It was again a good step this season, but I think next year I will feel again a lot more confident."