Although Antonio Giovinazzi’s rookie season got off to a slow start, he began to show promise in the second half of the year. Here are all the facts and statistics from Giovinazzi’s first full season in F1.
After a long break from competitive racing, and having made two previous F1 appearances at the start of the 2017 season, Antonio Giovinazzi returned to the sport in a full-time role at Alfa Romeo. It was a baptism of fire for the Italian, being put up against 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen.
It cannot be denied that Giovinazzi was a match for Raikkonen in qualifying by the end of the season, but the Finn still had the upper hand in the races. Giovinazzi’s best result of the year was fifth place in Brazil – a race in which Raikkonen finished one position ahead. The Italian scored points at four races over the course of the season, including taking a ninth place finish at his home race in Italy.
Giovinazzi took the honour of being the only driver outside of the top three teams to have led a race this year, leading four laps in Singapore. Although speculation surrounded his future in the sport later on in the season, especially with Nico Hulkenberg on the market, Giovinazzi will partner Raikkonnen once more in 2020. He’ll be hoping to challenge his team-mate more regularly in next year’s races.
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RACE STATISTICS
- Championship Position: 17
- Total Points: 14
- % of teams’ points scored: 25%
- Points Scoring Races: 4
- Best finish: 5th (Brazil)
- Number of DNFs: 2
- Laps Led: 4
- Laps Complete: 1211 (6th)
- % of Laps Complete: 95.96%
- Distance Covered: 6095.885km
- Races gained positions in: 8
- Races lost positions in: 9
- Finished where started: 2
- Total positions gained on first laps: 13
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QUALIFYING STATISTICS
- Q3 Appearances: 3
- Q2 Exits: 13
- Q1 Exits: 5
- Best Qualifying Position: 8th (Azerbaijan, Austria)
- Worst Qualifying Position: 19th (China)
- Average Qualifying Position: 13.38
- Average Grid Position: 13.81
- Average Gap to own potential qualifying pace: 0.071
- Achieved own ultimate pace: 6
- Beat team-mate in how many qualifying sectors: 22 / 60
- Average gap to team-mate per sector in qualifying: 0.059
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A STATISTIC FROM EVERY GRAND PRIX
Australia: Though he finished outside the points for a second time in the Australian Grand Prix, Antonio Giovinazzi’s fifteenth place finish in 2019 ensured neither of Alfa Romeo’s cars retired from the event for the first time since 2015, while his qualifying effort meant neither driver was eliminated in Q1 at the track for the first time since 2012.
Bahrain: With Lando Norris and Alexander Albon scoring at the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix, Antonio Giovinazzi became one of only two drivers on the 2019 grid yet to score a point in F1.
China: After the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix, Antonio Giovinazzi had finished fifteenth in all three races in the season. But, after being fifteenth in the Drivers’ Championship after both the Australian and Bahrain Grands Prix, the Italian slipped to sixteenth in the standings as a result of Daniel Ricciardo scoring his first points of the season.
Azerbaijan: Antonio Giovinazzi reached Q3 for the first time in his career at the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He also beat his team-mate in qualifying for the first time from his six Grand Prix appearances.
Spain: At the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix, Antonio Giovinazzi recorded his worst finishing position of the season up to that point with sixteenth. It’s the first time he finished a race in that position. Despite starting 297 races, it’s a position in which Alfa Romeo team-mate Kimi Raikkonen had never previously finished in.
Monaco: Antonio Giovinazzi finished last of the nineteen runners in the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. It gave him the honour of being the first driver to have ever finished the event in nineteenth place, with every previous race at the Circuit de Monaco having had eighteen or less finishers.
Canada: Finishing thirteenth for the first time in his career at the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix, Antonio Giovinazzi finished ahead of his team-mate in a race which both he and his team-mate completed for the first time.
France: Reaching Q3 for the second time in his career at the 2019 French Grand Prix, Antonio Giovinazzi became the first Italian to start within the top ten since Vitantonio Liuzzi did so with Force India at the 2010 Monaco Grand Prix.
Austria: With tenth place in the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix, Antonio Giovinazzi became the first Italian driver to score a point in Formula 1 since Vitantonio Liuzzi finished sixth in the 2010 Korean Grand Prix.
Britain: After spinning out of the 2019 British Grand Prix, Antonio Giovinazzi recorded the second DNF of his career – his first since he crashed out of the 2017 Chinese Grand Prix.
Germany: At the 2019 German Grand Prix, Antonio Giovinazzi joined a list of 163 drivers who have failed to score on any appearance at the Hockenheim circuit. George Russell and Lando Norris joined the club too, while Carlos Sainz and Kevin Magnussen left the group.
Hungary: Antonio Giovinazzi finished eighteenth in the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix. It was the first time an Italian driver finished in eighteenth place since Jarno Trulli at the 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Belgium: Retiring from the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix, Antonio Giovinazzi, along with Lando Norris, became one of ninety drivers to hold a 100% DNF rate at the Spa circuit.
Italy: As if a Ferrari winning the 2019 Italian Grand Prix wasn’t enough, the Italian crowd were also able to celebrate Antonio Giovinazzi’s ninth place result. The result saw Giovinazzi become the first Italian driver to score points at his home Grand Prix since 2006, when Giancarlo Fisichella finished fourth, and Jarno Trulli finished in seventh.
Singapore: Antonio Giovinazzi led four laps of the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix, making him the 172nd driver to have led a lap of a Formula 1 race. It was the first time since Williams led the opening laps of the 2015 British Grand Prix that a team other than Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull has led a lap. For the team, it was the first time the former Sauber cars have led a race since Esteban Gutierrez led two laps of the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix, and the first time the Alfa Romeo name has led a race since Andrea de Cesaris led the 1983 Belgian Grand Prix.
Russia: At the 2019 Russian Grand Prix, Antonio Giovinazzi became the 38th different driver to have started an F1 race at the Sochi Autodrom. George Russell, Robert Kubica and Alex Albon crossed the start line after him, making them the 39th, 40th and 41st drivers to start a Grand Prix at the track.
Japan: Antonio Giovinazzi out-qualified his team-mate for a third consecutive race at the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix, marking the first time he has lapped faster than his team-mate at three consecutive rounds of the championship.
Mexico: At the 2019 Mexico Grand Prix, Antonio Giovinazzi became the first Italian to start an F1 race in Mexico since eight Italians lined up on the grid of the 1992 event.
United States: For a third consecutive race, Antonio Giovinazzi finished fourteenth in the 2019 United States Grand Prix. It was the second time he finished in the same position at three consecutive races in 2019, having finished fifteenth at all of the first three rounds.
Brazilian: Antonio Giovinazzi recorded the best result of his career so far at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix with fifth place. It was the best result, and first top five finish, for an Italian driver since Jarno Trulli finished as runner-up at the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix.
Abu Dhabi: With Nico Hulkenberg leaving Formula 1 after the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Antonio Giovinazzi became the active driver to have started the most races without a podium finish.
