Giovinazzi secures second Sauber seat

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Antonio Giovinazzi secures second Sauber seat

Antonio Giovinazzi secures second Sauber seat

Antonio Giovinazzi will partner Kimi Raikkonen at Sauber next season as the team fields a new driver line up.

Although it was initially thought that Sauber would make their final decision after Giovinazzi’s test in Russia this Friday, the team announced the Italian’s signing on Tuesday.

“I am delighted to be joining the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team,” he said.

“This is a dream come true, and it is a great pleasure to have the chance to race for this team.

“As an Italian, it is a huge honour for me to represent a brand as iconic and successful as Alfa Romeo in our sport.

“I would like to thank the Scuderia Ferrari and the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team for giving me this great opportunity.

“I am very motivated and cannot wait to start working towards achieving great results together.”

Giovanizzi was believed to be up against Marcus Ericsson for the Sauber drive with the team handing one seat to Kimi Raikkonen.

However, in their press release, Sauber stated that Giovinazzi had been signed to ‘race in place of Charles Leclerc.’

That, one can assume, means Ericsson has known for a while that his days at Sauber are almost over.

“We’re very pleased to reveal the complete driver line-up for the 2019 season,” said team boss Fred Vassuer.

“We first signed Kimi Räikkönen, an extremely experienced driver who will contribute to the development of our car and will accelerate the progress of our team as a whole.

“Together with Alfa Romeo, we are delighted to welcome Antonio Giovinazzi, who will take the place of Charles Leclerc.

“We have already had the opportunity to work with him in the past and he has proven to have great potential. We are very determined and motivated.

“Our target is to continue progressing and fighting together for positions that count.”