F1 Barcelona Testing | Antonio Giovinazzi and the Alfa Romeo C38, two of the biggest surprises from Barcelona's test
The brand new Alfa Romeo C38 has stolen the attention of many in the Paddock, being described as one of the car with most potential; but let's not underestimate one of the team's drivers, Antonio Giovinazzi.
( palabras)
It was the last to be unveiled, but the one to capture everyone's eyes: the Alfa Romeo Sauber is one of the surprises that the first week of test in Barcelona gave us, and is surely the subject of many chats in and out of the Paddock.
An innovative car, on the aerodynamic side, with unique solutions, combined the power of the Prancing Horse, the Alfa Romeo C38 was borned from the genius of a reborned team, but is being brought to life by two unique drivers: Kimi Raikkonen, the last one to bring a championship in Maranello, and Antonio Giovinazzi.
The young italian has closed the first week of test in Barcelona with the 8th fastest time of the day; the stakanovist completed more laps than everybody, 154 laps, followed by Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon, 138 and 136 respectively. His C38, called Giulia (Raikonnen's one is called Stelvio, as a promotional move from the italian car manufacturer), has only caused some troubles during the very last minutes of the afternoon, stopping two times on track and causing a red flag.
Despite these troubles, the young italian has collected several kilometres on track: this is the first time Antonio is fully working with a real F1 car, as he spent his last three yeas at the Ferrari simulator, doing a great job for Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. Now, the IceMan is his team mate, someone Giovinazzi can learn from and look up to.
"My target is to work from him, just learn from him." The italian told Motorsport.com at the start of the week. “The right thing for the team as well is to go in the same way, and also it's maybe better for myself to go in Kimi's way, and drive in Kimi's way."
After the first chance with Sauber two years ago, as a replacement for inuried Pascal Wehrlein, Giovinazzi has now the chance to test the new car for both testing weeks and prepare for a full year of racing.
"It’s a different testing experience now,” he said. “Finally I can work for me, for my car, and this is what I’m doing. I’m trying to take all the feedback, give to the team and try to work a lot with the team and with Kimi as well to build a good car."
There have been several chats about what the season will be like for the young italian, with most insiders comparing him to Charles Leclerc since he ws announced as Alfa Romeo new driver.
Antonio is fully focused on trying to learn from a World Champion in the first part of the season and then try to keep up with him in the second part.
"I'm lucky to have Kimi as a teammate,and it will be a great benchmark."
The Alfa Romeo C38 can represent an outstanding surprise for the upcoming season, being considered one of the cars that can steal the "midfield" championship, but something tells us that it is not going to be the only surprise coming from the Alfa Romeo box.
An innovative car, on the aerodynamic side, with unique solutions, combined the power of the Prancing Horse, the Alfa Romeo C38 was borned from the genius of a reborned team, but is being brought to life by two unique drivers: Kimi Raikkonen, the last one to bring a championship in Maranello, and Antonio Giovinazzi.
The young italian has closed the first week of test in Barcelona with the 8th fastest time of the day; the stakanovist completed more laps than everybody, 154 laps, followed by Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon, 138 and 136 respectively. His C38, called Giulia (Raikonnen's one is called Stelvio, as a promotional move from the italian car manufacturer), has only caused some troubles during the very last minutes of the afternoon, stopping two times on track and causing a red flag.
Morning session completed 👌
Keep working hard ⚪🔴#AG99 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/Fpb8Bz9GtD
Morning session completed 👌
— Antonio Giovinazzi (@Anto_Giovinazzi) 21 febbraio 2019
Keep working hard ⚪🔴#AG99 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/Fpb8Bz9GtD
Despite these troubles, the young italian has collected several kilometres on track: this is the first time Antonio is fully working with a real F1 car, as he spent his last three yeas at the Ferrari simulator, doing a great job for Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. Now, the IceMan is his team mate, someone Giovinazzi can learn from and look up to.
"My target is to work from him, just learn from him." The italian told Motorsport.com at the start of the week. “The right thing for the team as well is to go in the same way, and also it's maybe better for myself to go in Kimi's way, and drive in Kimi's way."
After the first chance with Sauber two years ago, as a replacement for inuried Pascal Wehrlein, Giovinazzi has now the chance to test the new car for both testing weeks and prepare for a full year of racing.
"It’s a different testing experience now,” he said. “Finally I can work for me, for my car, and this is what I’m doing. I’m trying to take all the feedback, give to the team and try to work a lot with the team and with Kimi as well to build a good car."
There have been several chats about what the season will be like for the young italian, with most insiders comparing him to Charles Leclerc since he ws announced as Alfa Romeo new driver.
Antonio is fully focused on trying to learn from a World Champion in the first part of the season and then try to keep up with him in the second part.
"I'm lucky to have Kimi as a teammate,and it will be a great benchmark."
The Alfa Romeo C38 can represent an outstanding surprise for the upcoming season, being considered one of the cars that can steal the "midfield" championship, but something tells us that it is not going to be the only surprise coming from the Alfa Romeo box.
