Russian Grand Prix

Alfa Romeo radio silence created "impossible" Russian "mess"

Ewan Gale Tuesday 28 September 2021 13:50

Antonio Giovinazzi has described how a lack of radio communication with his Alfa Romeo team left him stranded as rain chaos hit the Russian Grand Prix.

Giovinazzi started 17th at Sochi and after making a good getaway from the line then made contact at turn two with Haas driver Mick Schumacher, losing the positions he had gained.

Heavy rainfall scuppered race strategies late on, with Lando Norris, Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez all impacted, yet Giovinazzi was faced with an even more difficult situation without any communication with the team.

"I had no radio from lap one so it was impossible to communicate with the team so it was just a difficult race with the fuel-saving," explained Giovinazzi.

"I tried to watch my pit on the main straight to watch what I needed to do but without radio, it was just a mess."

Expanding on the issues, Alfa Romeo head of trackside engineering Xevi Pujolar revealed there was complete radio silence throughout the race.

Asked how much the issue affected Giovinazzi, Pujolar replied: "Quite a bit because it was a tricky race with the fuel management and then especially towards the end of the race with the weather and all that.

"Initially, he could hear us but we could not hear him, but after a few laps, we lost everything.

"It was getting a bit difficult with what we wanted to achieve and affected his performance."

Latest News

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton secures F1 points boost after US GP embarrassment

28 minutes ago

Latest F1 News

McLaren 'nervous' as Piastri and Norris ‘problem’ arises

1 hour ago

Max Verstappen

Red Bull chief announces secret weapon for Max Verstappen title push

2 hours ago

F1 News & Gossip

Horner and Brown 'unaware' of dinner date SET UP with FIA president

3 hours ago

Latest F1 News

F1 debut confirmed as Lance Stroll sits out for Aston Martin at Mexican GP

Today 09:20

F1 News & Gossip

Christian Horner F1 return could be 'THREE years' away as £1.5billion backers emerge

Today 08:25

More news

F1 News Today: Late FIA penalty announced as McLaren disqualification decision made

Yesterday 15:41

250.000+ views

FIA announce F1 race winner handed LATE penalty after US Grand Prix

20 october

150.000+ views

F1 News Today: Max Verstappen absences confirmed as Red Bull bosses hold crisis meeting

2 october

150.000+ views

Piastri and Norris lose out after McLaren disqualification decision at US GP

20 october

100.000+ views

George Russell FIA penalty decision reached at Singapore GP

5 october

100.000+ views

Red Bull star announces exit as 2026 destination confirmed

11 october

F1 News 24/7

Races

About GPFans

GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.

We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.

With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.

Follow us on your favorite social media channel

Corporate & Media

Innovatieweg 20C
7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860

CHOOSE YOUR COUNTRY

Alfa Romeo radio silence created "impossible" Russian "mess"

Alfa Romeo radio silence created "impossible" Russian "mess"