F1, father Giovinazzi tells his son Antonio: “From karts in Puglia to F1 and Alfa Romeo”

It is striking right away, from the plural words that Vito Giovinazzi uses to describe his son Antonio, who is as if he were on the track too. That father, who raised him on bread, orecchiette and motors in the quiet Martina Franca, took him around Italy, always at the forefront, to encourage his growth. Now that Antonio, at 27, has become a mature driver for Alfa Romeo, he can enjoy his exploits and tell us all about it. From the first love for karting to friends; from Formula Abarth, GP2 and F1 single-seaters to contacts with Gian Carlo Minardi, Toto Wolff, Sergio Marchionne and Ferrari. Without forgetting his life today between Monte Carlo and Hinwil, with the aim of surprising more and more in the Circus aboard his C41 number 99.

His son Antonio has grown up a lot in F1, but he always proves to be a very helpful person.
“Many people ask me how he can be so humble. I say that it is a question of character, and that this quality is necessary both in work and in life. Antonio knows how to keep his head down, he does not let himself be distracted by external market rumors. He is fussy and knows how to tune the car, focusing on any aspect with his engineers. Then he always makes a team. This is also demonstrated by the fact that he never criticized the team during interviews, even when the fault was not his. “

When you go back to Puglia is it always like this with everyone?
“Absolutely yes. Antonio has lived in Montecarlo for five years, but when he returns to Martina Franca – those few times a year at Christmas, Easter or during the summer break of the World Cup – he always gives time to historical family and friends, going out with them. like when he was younger. He is the person he always has. With a girlfriend of many years by his side who loves him (Antonella Cavalieri ed)”.

Let’s talk about the pilot now. Was there a specific moment when you approached the world of motors?
“At the age of two. Already at that age he knew how to recognize the logos of all cars. I drove a BMW and he said to me: ‘Dad, that’s a BMW’ …”.

And then?
“Then in June 1996, just before he was three, I wanted to get an electric mini-Ferrari for him. But at the post office in Martina Franca I met Michele Palmisano, the owner of the local kart track where Antonio grew up. He offered me the sale of a 38cc petrol kart and I said yes. I picked it up and took it home “.

And from there love broke out …
“Initially not. When the first time I turned it on in the garage of the house, Antonio was frightened by the noise and did not want to go up. The next day I asked him if I should bring him back, he took courage and since then he hasn’t gone down again. At two and a half years old. on the track he overtook the older boys who ran for a fee, at four I bought him an official 50 cc to be able to compete. At seven, I took him with my BMW to the kart tracks and he had the same pace as those who competed, even if his half did not mount lead weights like the others “.

Can you tell us about the first race?
“I still remember it, it was in Mottola, in the province of Taranto. Antonio immediately took pole position. I also remember one from the championship in Val Vibrata in Abruzzo: there were 140 children, divided into groups of three. Once the various heats were done, it was time for the pre-final and the final. At the first, he was able to start from second place “.

I bet that, as a father, it will not have been easy to take him around Italy by reconciling his work commitments …
“There were some weekends where I just wanted to rest at home, because I was very tired from the working week. Antonio came to my room and said to me:” Dad, let’s go to Goffredo alla Conca. “Francesco Goffredo was the owner of his first team of kart, La Conca a track in the province of Lecce where he trained. If I told him no, my son would go behind the bedroom door and start crying. So my heart squeezed, I dressed his younger sister (Valentina, born in August 1995 a little less than two years after Antonio) and together with my wife Anna we set off for the track. As a child he wanted to become a kart champion, even his maternal grandfather competed as a young man “.

Then comes the time of the single-seaters, and one figure in particular is important to you: Ricardo Gelael
“In my son Ricardo saw a lot of talent. In karting he had his own box where his son Sean was (until last year in F2, with the Dams team). He was looking for a polite and humble driver, who was also fast. assured to bring Antonio up to GP2 (from 2017 again with the name of F2). A strong proposal, also knowing the personality of a man who had had and then dismissed several young drivers from his team. We did a year on karts, then in June 2012 we won the Chinese Formula Abarth championship with the Eurasia team. Ricardo, to pay homage to him, asked Antonio what he wanted as a gift: something very unusual answered him… “.

Thing?
“To compete in Europe, because he didn’t want people to think he wasn’t capable of winning outside China. And Antonio immediately made it clear what he was made of. In three races, he took two first places and one second in the Monza round. valid for the Italian Formula Abarth championship, also in 2012. He won these three placings on a wet track “.

And then it was a crescendo …
“He finished 4th with Carlin in the 2015 Macau GP, despite the injustice of the 20 second penalty that took away my son’s first place in the qualifying race (due to a contact on the first lap with Daniel Juncadella) making him snap 10 °. In the 2015 European Championship we had a 15-point advantage, but we lost the duel against Felix Rosenqvist’s Prema (now IndyCar driver of the Arrow McLaren SP team) due to a wrong set-up in the third to last round in Portimao “.

In 2016 there was the leap into the former GP2.
“In GP2 we were in Prema and Antonio’s teammate was Pierre Gasly, now Antonio’s colleague in F1 with AlphaTauri. I remember that Lawrence Stroll (current owner of the Aston Martin team) allocated several funds to the team every week, because his son Lance (driver of the Silverstone team) raced in the European F3, winning it at the end of the season. Even five years ago we were ahead, but we lost the championship in the last round in Abu Dhabi (Gasly won with 219 points against Giovinazzi’s 211) . I still wonder how it could have happened … “

Until the realization of Ferrari and F1 dreams between 2016 and 2017
“He joined Ferrari at the end of 2016 after having dealt with the good soul of Sergio Marchionne. At the start of the World Championship in Melbourne in 2017, Maurizio Arrivabene (former team principal of the Cavallino) told him that he would be on the track with Sauber as a replacement for Pascal Wehrlein, who had back problems. It also happened in the Shanghai race in China but it didn’t go well. In Australia my son finished 12th and it was a great result, so much so that even Toto Wolff complimented us. Before signing with Ferrari, Toto himself called us to offer us a contract with his Mercedes: Antonio should have been the third driver of Stuttgart in the Circus and the official one in the Dtm. But he has a “red” heart and he made the choice he felt “.

In 2019, the Alfa Romeo steering wheel as an official driver finally arrived, how did you react to the news?
“Marchionne tried in 2018 to distribute Antonio and Leclerc between Haas and Sauber, but the first team said no because they didn’t want a third brand with them, as there should have been a Maserati driver. So Charles (who had won the F2 championship 2017), was chosen for Alfa Romeo. In September of the same year, however, my son received a call from Arrivabene who announced the choice to work alongside Antonio in Raikkonen the following year. He called me on the phone, I was driving to Bari for work and I remember that he began by saying: “Dad, stop I have to tell you something”. As much as I cried, I struggled to speak and stopped driving for several minutes. His efforts had finally paid off. “

A few days ago, Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur said that Antonio is mature this year and must no longer take Raikkonen as an example for his growth. A great satisfaction …
“I agree with him. The comparison now for Antonio is with himself, being a ready rider. Indeed, I say more: for me he is still at 80% of his potential. He can still grow a lot and in the meantime he wants to overtake Kimi. in the drivers’ standings this year. If he continues to drive like this and if luck and strategy are on his side, for me he can do it widely. The qualifying in Imola, the wrong pit stops in Bahrain and Barcelona, ​​the traffic in Monte Carlo: he would already have could have had 10 points in the standings “.

Minardi is also a great supporter of yours. He said he was the one who recommended Antonio to Ferrari and that he is ready to take the big leap to drive the red.
“Gian Carlo has always believed in his qualities. We were very close to becoming Antonio’s manager when he was still racing in karts. I remember when in 2010 he proposed him to run the Abarth Race Days in Varano de ‘Melegari, near Parma, with Vincenzo Sospiri’s team (former F1 driver with Lola in 1997). He took pole but went out in the race. He came back 5th and finished in 2nd place “.

Are you disappointed that Antonio skipped tests with Ferrari to try the new 18-inch Pirelli tires? Mick Schumacher, today at Haas, also took to the track at Fiorano …
“Absolutely not. Antonio confronted Mattia Binotto (current Ferrari team principal), who told him to focus on Alfa Romeo. He spends a lot of time in the simulator, practicing a lot with the team. I think it’s the right choice. , better to improve more and more than to try new tires with a 2018 car “.

One last question: what are Antonio’s goals at the moment?
“To stay in F1 for many years. Now he is very happy in Alfa Romeo, even if in his heart he dreams of driving a car that is capable of fighting for the championship. Antonio always tells me that he would like to do it in Ferrari, but the door doesn’t go closed to no one “.