Antonio Giovinazzi certainly felt the affection of his fans in the home race, which earned him the FanBoost in both races on the Eur track. Unfortunately the driver from Martina Franca did not have the opportunity to use him in the Sunday race, since Antonio was forced to retire due to an unidentified technical problem that occurred to his car. The Dragon Penske standard bearer is certainly struggling with numerous difficulties in adapting to Formula E, but fate is certainly not helping the Italian driver. After the puncture found in Mexico, nothing worked as planned in the second E-Prix in Rome. At first a problem allowed Giovinazzi to finish just one lap in free practice in the morning. In qualifying, therefore, the Apulian crossed the finish line a fraction of a second after the checkered flag was displayed, which prevented him from making the last and fundamental attempt with the track in the best conditions, which was followed by the withdrawal in the race.
Net of the episodes, however, progress is highlighted by Giovinazzi, who in qualifying is now able to run on the times of his colleagues, in contrast to the gaps accused in the first seasonal races: “Too bad for today”, commented Antonio. “I was definitely arriving after shooting here one day, so it was already much better. In free practice, however, I only managed to do one lap, then we had a problem in qualifying and I couldn’t make the last attempt where I could have improved further. Certainly the qualification is a little betterbut I still don’t feel comfortable ”. In both races Giovinazzi then ran with high times, saving a considerable amount of energy, with the hope of being able to attack and gain in the final if a Safety Car had reunited the group, a strategy confirmed by the Dragon driver: “Yup. Unfortunately, when you start from the back, or you try to race like the ones in front, but in the end you know very well that you stay there and you have no chance to go on, or you try a different strategy, which today would have worked great, because with the Safety Car in the finale I would have found myself in the same condition as Turvey, who finished seventh. That was our strategy, but unfortunately it didn’t work out ”. The Nio driver in fact managed to grab seventh place after starting from the last box by implementing the same strategy as Antonio, who unfortunately could not do the same due to the retirement.
The difficulties for Giovinazzi derive from the atypical characteristics of the championship, with heavy cars and poor mechanical and aerodynamic grip, to which is added the bumpy asphalt of the city circuits. Precisely the type of tracks prevents rookies from experimenting and learning, as the walls do not allow room for error: “As I said, of everything I have learned in my career, nothing works here. You can’t even go beyond the limits, because it would crash, and losing a session would be too important because I wouldn’t be able to do those laps. I always have to find a middle ground. Unfortunately, that’s how it goes, not having the tests and not having time in the car, I can’t afford to make mistakes during the weekend ”. The retirements in the race and the problems in practice therefore weigh doubly for Giovinazzi, preventing the driver from Martina Franca from accumulating laps and experience precisely at a moment in which every learning opportunity proves to be precious. It should also be remembered that the Apulian was unable to participate in the last day of pre-season tests in Valencia last year, due to the concomitance with his commitments in Formula 1.
The next stage of the electric world championship will however be Montecarlo, a track that Antonio already knows very well: “Monaco is a track I know, it will have the same layout as the other times I’ve raced there. Obviously, I repeat, it will be with another car, another driving style and being always a street circuit, I can’t afford to make mistakes. But surely the fact that I already know the track I hope will give me a hand “. Giovinazzi therefore looks to the future, without letting the difficulties of the moment affect his determination: “I’m certainly a guy who never gave up. Now is a difficult moment mentally and a good result would be too important. Let’s hope for Monaco, a track that was my friend in the past and where I took home my first points last year. I don’t expect points, but I hope at least for a clean weekend ”.
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