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Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur says the team will decide on its 2020 line-up "quite soon" as it evaluates who will partner Kimi Raikkonen at the team.
Raikkonen joined the outfit formerly known as Sauber at the end of the 2018 season, with Ferrari junior Antonio Giovinazzi filling the seat alongside him.
Raikkonen has scored a bulk of Alfa Romeo's points this year, however Giovianzzi has ended two out of the last three races inside the top ten.
Vasseur affirmed his confidence in the 25-year-old Italian, who is believed to be the favourite for the seat despite the fact the experienced Nico Hulkenberg is hunting for a drive.
"We will take the decision quite soon but honestly, if you have a look at the last event I think that Antonio is doing a very strong job, that he was matching Kimi in the last six or seven qualifyings in a row," Vasseur said.
"He was in front in Sochi. Okay, the first lap was not a good one for us but he’s doing the job and he’s improving step-by-step.
"This morning we had an issue on the car and he was not able to show the pace but he’s doing the job, he’s improving and I’m very confident with Antonio."
Vasseur added that Raikkonen has been a valuable asset to the team, as it endured a tough spell midway through the season where it ran a handful of races far away from scoring points.
"He's been very calm, he’s not a bit nervous," Vasseur said. "I think it’s good also for us to stay focused on the real issue and not to start to try to go in every single direction.
"We know what did wrong on the last two or three events and I hope that we will be able to correct it for Suzuka and the next ones, and that’s it."
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G. Zhou
Replies (3)
Login to replyf1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
giovinazzi deserves to stay i think
michielhimself
Posts: 132
So does Hulkenberg if it's "staying in F1" you're referring to. It really depends on the purpose of the Alfa Romeo team. If it's primarily to further the brand and do as well as possible in the F1 championships, then Hulkenberg is the better choice.
If it is to train the next upcoming talent for Ferrari, then they might keep Giovinazzi but I don't think he's shown enough yet to be considered as a replacement for Vettel if he leaves. So that should mean neither Hulkenberg nor Giovinazzi should get that seat, but another Ferrari youngling.
xoya
Posts: 583
Too error prone for me.