Ferrari third driver Antonio Giovinazzi will participate in seven Friday practice sessions with the Haas F1 team starting at the British Grand Prix it has been revealed.
The Italian gained his first Formula 1 experience this year standing in for Pascal Wehrlein at Sauber in Australia and China and now last year’s GP2 runner-up will gain more track time with the American team at Silverstone, Budapest, Monza, Sepang, Mexico, Interlagos and Abu Dhabi.
Speaking about his new commitments, Giovinazzi said: “In a year that’s already been filled with great opportunities, I’m proud to have another one with Haas F1 Team.
“Being the third driver with Scuderia Ferrari is obviously a great place to be, and getting seat time in these FP1 sessions with Haas F1 Team will keep me sharp.”
Explaining what he’ll gain by participating, the 23-year-old added: “I’ll be able to take what I’ve learned in the simulator and apply it in actual race conditions. I’m proud of the faith Ferrari and Haas have in me and gracious for the seat time Kevin and Romain are sharing with me.”
What has caught attention is that Kevin Magnussen, who only joined Haas at the start of this year, will make way for Giovinazzi at all but one of the seven sessions.
Considering the impact of that, Jens Winther, F1 expert for Denmark’s TV2 broadcaster admitted: “It is unfortunate for Kevin.
“If there is something positive in it, it may be that the team believes Kevin can cope without the Friday sessions more than (Romain) Grosjean can.
“We do know that Grosjean has problems with the brakes, while Kevin is comfortable with them. It could be one of the reasons.
“Unfortunately, it could also be simply about Kevin’s points situation, as he has fewer points than Grosjean,” he added.