“I leave F1 with my head held high” – Antonio Giovinazzi still feels money power played a decisive role in Alfa Romeo replacing him with Guanyu Zhou from next season.
Antonio Giovinazzi deserved to retain his F1 seat for next season, considering few other drivers who are below-par still do. And the Italian feels it has always been like this in the sport.
“It was a challenge that was almost lost. That’s the bad thing about this sport, unfortunately, it’s always been like that.
“I hope I’ll be able to change my mind in the future.”
Giovinazzi considers Guanyu Zhou ‘lucky’
He is being replaced by Guanyu Zhou, set to be China’s first-ever driver in Formula 1. This is on the back of an impressive campaign in F2, where he was in the title fray, until eventually losing out to fellow Renault cadet Oscar Piastri. Despite all this, Giovinazzi feels Zhou got lucky…
“Lucky him.
“Even though he got the F1 super-license points himself.
“There are now drivers who decide the financial policies of entire teams. But I’m not the only one to have lost my job because of this.”
Happy birthday @Anto_Giovinazzi! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/vaPsquWS1w
— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) December 14, 2021
Giovinazzi will compete in Formula E in 2022
Apart from his rookie season in Formula E, Giovinazzi, along with Mick Schumacher, will deputise for Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.
Nonetheless, he is disappointed with how he was shown the way out by Alfa Romeo, considering how impressive he has been while in the premier category.
“Disappointment. Very difficult months.
“There were louder and louder rumours about me. I’ve always tried to keep them away from my mind, but this time it wasn’t easy. So I’m happy with how I reacted, I leave F1 with my head held high.”
