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Giovinazzi: Raikkonen won't deny me help through rookie season

Published on 14 Dec 2018 11:36
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By: Fergal Walsh

Antonio Giovinazzi believes that there will be strong communication between himself and Kimi Raikkonen next season. The two will be teammates at Sauber, with Raikkonen returning on a two-year deal to the team he made his F1 debut with in 2001.

Giovinazzi already has two races under his belt with Sauber, as he stood in for an injured Pascal Wehrlein for the opening two races of the 2017 season. However, he has previously stated that he doesn't believe his experience two years ago will aid him.

At the post-season test in Abu Dhabi, Giovinazzi revealed that he held extensive discussions with the Iceman: "Charles [Leclerc] said he talked to Vettel from time to time and Kimi a little,” Giovinazzi told Sky Italia.

“But on the day of testing I talked with him a lot, like never before. He is very motivated by this new experience, so as a world champion who is winning again he will help me to develop and will not deny me any help.”

Raikkonen leaves Ferrari after five years in his second stint with them. Having enjoyed a strong partnership with Sebastian Vettel for four of those years at the team, he is not expecting anything to change between himself and the four-time world champion.

“I’m sure we’re going to see each other often,” Raikkonen said. “I don’t think it has changed from when we met for the first time to today, so I don’t see why it is going to change anywhere even though we’re not racing in the same team. We will stay friends, and I’m sure we’ll travel together sometimes and see each other.”

F1 News Sebastian Vettel Kimi Räikkönen Pascal Wehrlein Antonio Giovinazzi Charles Leclerc Sauber Ferrari

Replies (8)

mcbhargav

Posts: 1,332
Not convinced with him so far. Hope he will etch a niche at Sauber.
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- Dec 14 2018 - 17:04
- ajpennypacker
  
  Posts: 2,475
  Because he's not really a rookie is he? And he didn't really impress very much on his debut. He did have one impressive race, but then some embarrassing mistakes. I think he's Formula 1 caliber, but I don't see him ever making it out of Sauber. But I guess, according to Vettel, it makes sense for him to be there because you know... he's young, which apparently is the primary qualification for getting a seat on the grid....
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  Dec 14 2018 - 17:27
calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
I think he went in too aggressive at Sauber, too keen to impress so he overdrove. I think he could be a calibre higher than the likes of Ocon and Wehrlein, Ferrari has proven very able at picking juniors, but this year is prime time to truly see how F1-worthy he is.
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- Dec 14 2018 - 18:21
- ajpennypacker
  
  Posts: 2,475
  What juniors has Ferrari picked that turned out to be great? Because I've actually always perceived their academy largely as a failure; in that very rarely one of those drivers (1) makes it to Ferrari, or (2) becomes a top driver. Leclerc is truly the first that I've seen with super star potential. Massa was a star for one year before morphing into Barrichello 2.0.
  
  Anyway, correct me if I'm missing a few facts here.
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  Dec 14 2018 - 21:39
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Well, Jules Bianchi, Perez and Lance Stroll were all at some point member of the academy. And while none of them have grabbed a title, all 3 went to F1. And then we have Fangio if we look back later. At any rate I feel like the Ferrari academy has had a greater deal of success than e.g Merc' academy.
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  Dec 15 2018 - 06:59
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Even Grosjean, for all the mediocrity he displays, were a Ferrari jr at some point, and he has managed to stay in F1 for a long period. So the Ferrari jrs might not be the best around, but my point is that they've managed to pick drivers that have had decent staying power.
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  Dec 15 2018 - 07:00
- ajpennypacker
  
  Posts: 2,475
  Well, allow me to retort.
  
  Jules Bianchi, rest in peace. But he was an overhyped kid. Never understood why people expected so much from him. Barely made an impact in GP2
  
  Perez: was dropped from the academy, which by the way, kudos to Ferrari for allowing him to move out (unlike RBR)
  
  Stroll: No comment. At any rate he started with Williams having nothing to do with Ferrari
  
  Grosjean: Was promising at one point, but that's another dropout from the academy.
  
  Still, however, I'd agree that their academy has had more talent go through it (even if briefly) that Mercedes. That being said, I don't know how long there has been a program at Mercedes for juniors. We'll have to see how George Russell turns out. He did really well in GP2, but I was not impressed. I still think Lando is more F1 material.
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  Dec 15 2018 - 20:18
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Objection!
  
  I disagree about Bianchi. I dont really care about other series... "Remember how good Vandoorne did in other series, and how good Stroll has done... How well have they done thus far, pray tell?" the children of the village asked AJPP, all the while smearing eggnog in his face while repeating the chant.
  
  I agree on Stroll, agree on Grosjean and so on, but they were nevertheless picked. Same for Perez, he was at one point a member. To me it doesnt really matter if they are current or former you see. They are of Ferrari origin, thats sufficient for me. Then we have Prost, Fangio and many others with some degree of Ferrari DNA. Merc' academy is pretty young, sure, but I find that a mute point, since Merc' itself is such a motoring veteran. They have all the connections needed, but didnt connect the connections to bring out the pure talents.
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  Dec 15 2018 - 23:23