Giovinazzi ignoring Alfa Romeo team orders "not ideal" after costing point
Giovinazzi ignoring Alfa Romeo team orders "not ideal" after costing point
Alfa Romeo head of trackside engineering Xevi Pujolar has conceded Antonio Giovinazzi ignoring team orders at the Turkish Grand Prix was "not ideal".
Giovinazzi was asked to move aside for a fast-charging Kimi Raikkonen in the closing stages of the race with a points-finish available to the team.
The Italian, whose future is as yet unconfirmed at the team, did not cede position despite his team-mate's better pace and eventually finished just seven-tenths shy of Esteban Ocon in 10th.
Explaining the situation after the race, Pujolar said: "We asked to swap positions but then, at this point, Antonio started to pick up the pace and he decided himself that he wanted to stay ahead.
"Maybe that situation is a couple of laps where we could potentially have been faster as a team. Then we needed one lap to catch Ocon.
"For sure, for the team, it was not ideal. I did not understand why we could not swap at this point because we can change it back depending on the situation.
"For us, it is important to achieve the points. Kimi's pace was strong at the time."
Alfa Romeo not focused on switch early in race
The race in Turkey was a strategy team's nightmare with rain forecast for during the event but never falling hard enough to affect conditions, whilst the track promised to dry but remained greasy throughout.
Pujolar added the team was not concerned about the pace advantage of one driver over the other early on because of the shroud around tyre strategy.
"At the beginning of the race, we didn't really focus so much on who is stronger," he commented.
"Both cars were there and we were managing... we didn't know how long the conditions would remain so we didn't want to put too much stress on positions and letting Kimi push hard and run out of tyres too quickly, so at that stage, we wanted to have a bit of space because nobody knew if it would be 20 laps, 30 laps or the whole race in inter conditions.
"At the end of the race, it was a different story. At that point, yes, we wanted to swap positions."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Newey Red Bull exit details confirmed as Ferrari make dramatic unveiling - GPFans F1 Recap
- 1 hour ago
Award-winning director reveals STUNNING tribute to F1 legend Senna
- 2 hours ago
Ferrari fans BEG for Newey after team reveal shock change
- 3 hours ago
Newey manager hints at Red Bull legend's SHOCK next move after exit
- Yesterday 20:57
Ecclestone ATTACKS Hamilton 'ego' after Ferrari move
- Yesterday 19:57
- 1
Newey and Hamilton could enjoy stunning title REPEAT after F1 guru's Red Bull exit
- Yesterday 18:58
Related news
Hamilton 'giving no energy' to Mercedes engine troubles
Perez podium a "great shot of confidence" for Red Bull title tussle - Horner
Alpine adamant no safety risk with Ocon strategy gamble
Hamilton cautious of drivers 'not fighting for the same prize'
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
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 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860