Giovinazzi confident of Alfa Romeo stay if recent form continues

Antonio Giovinazzi is confident he will retain his Formula 1 drive with Alfa Romeo for 2020 if he can continue his recent form after impressive drives in Italy and Singapore.

Giovinazzi scored just one point through the opening 13 races of the season, but rallied with runs to P9 at Monza and P10 in Singapore, having even led a short portion of the latter race.

Alfa Romeo has one of five free seats left on the grid for 2020, but Giovinazzi feels confident of keeping his drive if he can continue his recent level of performance.

“I think I still need to push. [It was] two good positive weekends, Monza and Singapore, but we need to still push,” Giovinazzi said.

“Like I say all of the time, I think if I continue with these results, and with this speed, nobody can take my seat for next year.”

Giovinazzi’s chances of keeping his seat were talked up by Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur over the Singapore weekend, who noted how close he has been to teammate Kimi Raikkonen in qualifying throughout the season.

Giovinazzi returned to full-time racing in 2019 after two years in reserve and simulator roles, leaving the Italian with some rustiness for race management, explaining some of the gap between them on Sundays.

“The speed in qualy was always there compared to Kimi. We were always really close in terms of performance, sometimes in front of him, sometimes behind him, but always really close,” Giovinazzi said.

“But then the race was the main problem, the management of the race in general. Bu for two years I just did two races in F1 plus one Le Mans last year. So to come back in F1 with the best category with the best drivers was not easy.

“But I think now I’m more comfortable in the race. The pace is also a lot better, and I hope to continue on this way, and I think we are on the right way.”