Ferrari reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi thought someone was playing a joke on him when he woke up to find a text message on his phone explaining he would be taking part in his first ever Formula 1 race weekend, with the Italian drafted in to replace Pascal Wehrlein at Sauber.
Wehrlein, who suffered a back injury during the Race of Champions event in Miami earlier this year, chose to pull out of the race weekend because his "fitness level is not as it should be for a full race distance".
Giovinazzi, reserve for Sauber's engine supplier Ferrari, was therefore chosen as the German's replacement, but he was sleeping when Ferrari and his manager messaged him about the switch.
"I received a text message this morning from Ferrari and my manager," he told the official F1 website. "Actually they informed me last night, but it was too late for me – I was already in bed – so I found out only this morning when I woke up.
"First thought was: somebody is making a joke with me. And then finally it dawned on me that this was all true. I made my way to the track immediately to speak with the engineers of my team. And being here is something that I still can hardly believe. It is a childhood dream that suddenly became reality!"
Giovinazzi has already driven the Sauber-C36 when he stood in for Wehrlein during the first pre-season test, but is still expecting a tough day after completing just 23 laps during final practice and qualifying on Saturday.
"Of course, I was a bit nervous because I didn’t know the track, so it was something of a shortcut for me from FP3 straight to qualifying. And I think I put in a good performance. I was just a few tenths off my team mate, so I am really happy how it went today.
"Tomorrow will be a tough day. Everybody says that this track is a bit peculiar and that everything can happen, so my target for tomorrow is to do a good start, to make no mistake in the race, and finish it.
"Of course, the dream extended would be to finish in the points – but, as I am somewhat living a dream right now, why not?"
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