Antonio Giovinazzi believes he is now the most prepared he has ever been to compete in Formula 1 after learning from his mistakes at the Chinese Grand Prix at the start of the year.
The young Italian stepped in for an injured Pascal Wehrlein at Sauber in the first two races and would impress at the opening round in Australia, but two crashes in qualifying and the race in tricky conditions in Shanghai left a bad impression with Wehrlein returning from the next race in Bahrain.
Fulfilling his role as Ferrari third driver since, Giovinazzi has also completed a number of Practice 1 outings with Haas this season with the Scuderia wanting their American technical partners to take on the 2016 GP2 runner-up for next year, though that likelihood appears unlikely.
If he did get the chance, however, is sure he would be in a much stronger position to meet the high expectations many have of the 23-year-old.
“This year gave me more than I expected,” Giovinazzi told Italy’s La Gazzetta Dello Sport. “I do not hide that after a great year in GP2, I felt ready to race a full season in F1, that’s how it is. But now I feel even much more prepared than I did last winter.”
The experience from that weekend in Shanghai was one which he admits changed a lot of his perceptions.
“In Australia, I had a great time but China was the worst weekend of my entire career as a driver,” Antonio said. “It happened to me on the most important stage when I had all the media pressure on me. Critics attacked me a lot.
“I understand better that you always have to keep your feet on the ground. I do not want to say that it went to my head, but perhaps in China, I set goals that were bigger than I could do at that time.
“You have to be aware of your limitations and that everything comes to you in time but the disappointment has helped me to grow.”
An alternative to Haas for 2018 could be Sauber, where fellow Ferrari member and F2 champion Charles Leclerc is expected to be confirmed, indeed, Team Principal Fred Vasseur is targeting an announcement of the Swiss team’s line-up at the season finale.
“We will do the announcement, I hope, in Abu Dhabi,” Vasseur said. “I think Charles is doing a good job. The situation in FP1 is not an easy one because the first target is to avoid crashing, and by the way that he’s consistent, and he always shows a strong pace, he’s doing a good job.”
