Vasseur’s talk of ‘stability’ offers Giovinazzi hope
Antonio Giovinazzi on the grid with his helmet in hand, preparing for the race with his Alfa Romeo mechanics. Mexico November 2021
Despite reports to the contrary, Antonio Giovinazzi’s F1 career may not be over with Fred Vasseur conceding continuity may be good given 2022’s all-new cars.
Next season Formula 1 is racing all-new cars, the sport adopting ground-effect aerodynamics in the hope that it will lead to closer racing.
That though may not be the only all-new aspect that Alfa Romeo have to deal with, the team also potentially having two new drivers.
Already the team has confirmed Valtteri Bottas as Kimi Raikkonen’s replacement while reports claim it is only a matter of time before Giovinazzi gets his marching orders.
Or will he?
Speaking to the press in Mexico, team boss Vasseur acknowledged that stability, at least with one driver, could be good for the team given the new rules.
“Yeah,” he said when asked if continuity could benefit the team, “it’s already the question to know if we have interest to change [both drivers] with the new regulations or if, with the new regulations, stability is important.
“We know that the preparation will be very short with the two times three days [test] and it could be less with the reliability or other issues.
“It means that we have to be ready from the first stage also because we know perfectly that in this kind of championship that it is very often on the first event that you can score the big points for the midfield team.
“And it is true that it is a factor into the decision.
“But,” he added, “it is not the only one.”
Should the team opt for an all-new line up, the race is then between Oscar Piastri, Guanyu Zhou and Sauber junior Theo Pourchaire for the second seat.
Alfa Romeo will confirm the line up on the Tuesday after the Brazilian GP.
The team boss also asked about Andretti Autosport’s interest in buying Sauber, a move that was said to have pettered out because of financial reasons.
Michael Andretti though, has already denied that.
He told Autosport: “That couldn’t be further from the truth. It had nothing to do with that.
“It basically came down to control issues in the final hours of the negotiations. That’s what killed the ”
Asked about Andretti’s comments, Vasseur said: “I didn’t make any comment before, I won’t start to make comment now.”
He did however add: “I think that it is a very strong message that the current shareholders sent to the company and that it was really appreciated by everybody.
“It is also a huge pressure on the shoulders but I hope that all the team members and all the employees of the company, and the first one is myself, we are feeling the pressure.
“And I think it is a positive pressure to get results in the future.”
Alfa Romeo remain P9 in the Constructors’ Championship, 12 points behind Williams.
PlanetF1 Verdict
Does Giovinazzi have a glimmer of hope?
Antonio Giovinazzi has been given a glimmer of hope as Alfa Romeo teams bosses want stability for the 2022 season.
