The 2021 Monaco Grand Prix was filled with many ups and downs. We saw Redbull, Ferrari, and McLaren on the podium as we did 10 years ago as well as Vettel having a triumphant race, with a personal best finish with Aston Martin. Gasly also had a strong P6 result and managed to keep Hamilton behind for the entirety of the race. Of course we saw the struggles of Leclerc, and it was an overall disappointing day for Mercedes.
Yet, there was a driver who displayed an impressive performance but was unfortunately overlooked: Antonio Giovanazzi.
[Image from Racefans.net]
The Monaco Circuit is iconic, and where we have seen many legends conquer the top step. It is also seen as a rather daunting circuit as the margin for error is next to none. This circuit requires high precision due to the narrow format. As Leclerc demonstrated this weekend, no matter how competitive the car and skilled the driver, this is a difficult circuit to master.
This circuit is also great one to showcase skill, especially for those in less competitive cars. Speed of course is still a very important component, but more skilful driver's can make mid-field cars suddenly competitive.
Giovanazzi was able to do this. He had a very strong qualifying, managing to secure P10 for the race on Sunday, a position he was able to maintain, earning his first points of the season. This puts him 15th in the driver’s championship.
Giovanazzi is not unfamiliar with success. Beginning his karting career in 2000, he has seen many triumphs such as finishing 6th in the 2014 F3 Championship and 2nd in the 2015. His continued efforts and successes led to his position as reserve driver for Scuderia Ferrari in 2017, and ultimately his seat in Formula 1at Alfa Romeo in 2019.
The Italian has skilfully worked his way up to a seat in Formula 1 which he has secured for three seasons. However he has been stuck in a backmarker car. Unlike, George Russell, he has not been given an opportunity to demonstrate his skills in a more competitive car, therefore his skills may still be overlooked by many.
Following resigning with Alfa Romeo last season, Giovanazzi has said he will be using the 2021 season to better showcase his skill as a driver. If he continues to have strong performances as he did in Monaco, and show that despite mediocre speed, he can still have solid results, it will be interesting to see what opportunities will present themselves for him in the future.
With contract talk underway, being marked by Lando Norris resigning with McLaren, it will be interesting to see if Giovanazzi will maintain his seat at Alfa Romeo or sign with another team that may present more opportunities for him as a competitor.
Comments