Antonio Giovinazzi insists formula one remains his "priority". With the support of Ferrari, the Italian made his F1 debut early last year as he temporarily replaced the injured Sauber driver Pascal Wehrlein.
But for 2018, it was Ferrari's other junior - new F2 champion Charles Leclerc - who got the green-light for the full-time Sauber seat. Giovinazzi will now have a reserve and occasional Friday practice role, but he notably tested recently for the Virgin Formula E team.
"The car is very different from everything I was used to before," the 24-year-old told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport. "It has less downforce so braking must be more accurate. In my opinion, the day went well."
But Giovinazzi denies that the test indicates that Ferrari is ushering the Italian driver into Formula E rather than continue to steer him towards F1. "It was my personal initiative," he insisted. "Ferrari did not participate in it. I wanted to understand how everything works in Formula E, because there's nothing better than driving a racing car. But my priority remains formula one. I will do everything to get a place in one of the teams," Giovinazzi said.
He confirmed that he will be Sauber's reserve and occasional Friday practice driver in 2018. "The rest of the time I will try to be as useful to the team as I can," he said. (GMM)
Giovinazzi: "F1 still priority despite Formula E test"
- Published on 16 Jan 2018 14:28
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- By: Rob Veenstra
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Replies (2)
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Just sign for FE and impress.
- + 0
- Jan 16 2018 - 23:43
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I don't think there's a way back from FE to F1.
- + 1
- Jan 17 2018 - 09:31
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- Team Ferrari
- Points 21
- Podiums 0
- Grand Prix 62
- Country IT
- Date of b. Dec 14 1993 (32)
- Place of b. Martina Franca, IT
- Weight 63 kg
- Length 1.83 m
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- Team name Sauber
- Base - Switzerland
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Kimi Räikkönen 7
- Felipe Massa 8
- Marcus Ericsson 9
- Nico Hülkenberg 11
- Felipe Nasr 12
- Esteban Gutierrez 12
- Felipe Massa 12
- Felipe Massa 12
- Kamui Kobayashi 14
- Sergio Perez 15
- Charles Leclerc 16
- Kamui Kobayashi 16
- Sergio Perez 17
- Kimi Räikkönen 17
- Esteban Gutierrez 21
- Kamui Kobayashi 23
- Guanyu Zhou 24
- Nico Hülkenberg 27
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I don't think there's a way back from FE to F1.