Giovinazzi: Australian GP more or less over on first-lap

Antonio Giovinazzi has revealed his Australian Grand Prix was "more or less over" after the opening lap on his full Formula 1 debut.

The new Alfa Romeo Racing driver picked up floor damage on his car, with the Italian unfortunately driving over some loose debris that came off the Renault of Daniel Ricciardo - who damaged his car at the start of the race.

Giovinazzi then had contacr with the McLaren of Carlos Sainz at Turn 9 - damaging his front wing in the process.

The former Ferrari reserve driver had to pit early and subsequently lost about five seconds of time on his rivals with the Alfa pit-crew trying to find the appropriate balance on the damaged car.

Giovinazzi concluded the race in P15 - ahead of the Williams drivers only - with his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen finishing in an impressive eighth-place for the newly-named Alfa Romeo Racing team.

"I had damage on the front wing from lap one, we did a touch, I think with a McLaren," Giovinazzi explained to Motorsport.com. "After that it was just a difficult race, especially on the first stint with the first tyres.

"Then on the pitstop we tried to repair a little bit the front wing to not lose too much time. In the end, I think the pace was better, but the car was just with a lot of damage. We need to focus on the next rounds."