Antonio Giovinazzi - from F1 underperformer to triumphing at Le Mans
Giovinazzi wrote his name in Ferrari folklore, as alongside James Calado and Alessando Pier Guidi, guided the famous Italian manufacturer to their first victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours since 1965.
Their victory was momentous for a number of reasons, winning on Ferrari’s return to the championship as part of the new hypercar era, while breaking the stranglehold Toyota have enjoyed in recent years.
Since making his F1 debut in 2017 with Sauber, it’s not been plain-sailing for Giovinazzi.
Take it back one year, his GP2 Series season at Prema alongside Pierre Gasly was outstanding.
In his rookie year, Giovinazzi pushed Gasly, who had a lot more GP2 experience under his belt, to the title.
He was only handed his initial chance due to Pascal Wehrlein’s pre-season injury, while Charles Leclerc’s incredible junior form earned him the Sauber seat over Giovinazzi for 2018.
It was 2019 when the team was rebranded as Alfa Romeo Giovinazzi got his chance in F1.
Alongside 2007 F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo had a great balance in two drivers at the start and end of their respective careers.
Naturally, given his time away, Giovinazzi endured a slow start in 2019 relative to Raikkonen, who joined the team on the back of his strongest Ferrari season (during his second stint at least).
By 2020, a general theme started to emerge with Giovinazzi having a clear edge in qualifying over the Finn, however, he could never make the most of it in terms of converting it into race results.
Despite a generally underwhelming year in ‘20, Giovinazzi got a third season with the team, remaining alongside Raikkonen.
While he bettered his previous two campaigns, it wasn’t enough to retain his seat for 2022, with Alfa Romeo opting for Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu - an entirely new driver line-up for F1’s new era.
Giovinazzi’s chances of the Haas drive for F1 2023 were scuppered by a shunt in FP1 at the United States Grand Prix, putting the nail in the coffin for his chances of remaining on the grid.
During this time, the Italian’s focus wasn’t solely on returning F1, even though he remained part of Ferrari as their third driver.
His sole season in Formula E was difficult, but his motorsport career was given new life when Ferrari announced in November 2022 they were returning to the elite class of the World Endurance Championship.
Giovinazzi would spearhead the Italian marquee’s charge, driving the 499P hypercar.
It’s credit to Giovinazzi that Ferrari trusted him with the reins, alongside experienced sportscar duo Colado and Pier Guidi, to represent the team in sportscars’ toughest championship.
In what was a thrilling 100th race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the #51 Ferrari saw off the #8 Toyota driven by ex-F1 drivers Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley, as well as Ryo Hirakawa.
Despite Pier Guidi having a trip into the gravel trap, Hirakawa made a mistake of his own in the final two hours to give Ferrari a crucial gap to take the ultimate victory.
While it’s important to acknowledge Ferrari had an advantage over Toyota due to the balance of performance change - Toyota’s minimum weight was increased by 37kg, while Ferrari’s was only 24kg - it was still an incredible achievement.
After the race, Giovinazzi described winning as a “dream came true”.
“When you are a kid and you are a racing driver, you have a few races that you watch all the time
“It's the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Indianapolis and then, of course for me it was Monza F1 and so it was one of my dreams. Today the dream came true.”
While on the surface Giovinazzi’s F1 career was underwhelming, he always demonstrated immense talent and speed.
Not everyone can win in F1 let alone win the world championship.
Giovinazzi’s success is another reminder that there is life after F1 and the end of your career in one category doesn’t mean you can’t win elsewhere.
