Former Red Bull driver claims Antonio Giovinazzi is not given enough credits; despite his good performances, he sees an F1 exit.
Antonio Giovinazzi, since 2020 has shown immense progress. But his survival in F1 is under threat with particular funding interests. Initially, Michael Andretti was interested in buying Sauber run team,
That purchase would have brought the American driver Colton Herta to replace Giovinazzi in the team. With the deal reportedly off, Alfa Romeo is entertaining Guaynu Zhou to be a part of the team next year with heavy funding boasting his CV.
However, former Red Bull driver David Coulthard is not pleased with the treatment given to Giovinazzi by his employers. He hopes that the Italian race driver will manage to retain his seat.
“Antonio is a quality driver,” Coulthard told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I think he’s got speed, intelligence, he’s you know a good-looking boy, which is always a good thing for the partners and sponsors.”
“Of course, it’s always going to be tricky when you’re in a team like Alfa where you’re aligned to the main Ferrari team,” added the Channel 4 commentator.”
“But the Ferrari team has two young drivers, so there’s no clear route for him to go there. And because you’re aligned to Ferrari that’s probably a limited opportunity to go to other teams.”
“So at the moment, you know I hope he’s able to secure his future with Alfa and then I’m sure what he can do alongside Bottas. I think that’s the best possibility for him.”
Antonio Giovinazzi is doing better than Kimi Raikkonen
Giovinazzi currently sits P18 in the drivers’ standings. Five points below Kimi Raikkonen, who will retire at the end of the season. Yet, Coulthard thinks the Italian is having a better season, but his efforts aren’t being appreciated.
“You know, I think Kimi is a fast racing driver,” commented the former Grand Prix driver. “People maybe don’t give Antonio the credit he’s due to be a little bit in front of Kimi, which is the average this year.
“I think he’s been a couple of tenths ahead of Kimi in qualifying. You know that is not something I managed very often in my time when I was alongside Kimi and, of course, time moves on. But I hope that he’s able to continue there and then see what the future opens up.”
Also read: Italian government urged to splurge to help Antonio Giovinazzi retain his seat in Alfa Romeo
