As part of a new, daily series in the run-up to the start of pre-season, Motorsport Week brings you brief left-field reflections and stories of teams, drivers and reserve/test drivers that will be part of the Formula 1 paddock in 2019.
Antonio Giovinazzi will race full-time for Sauber in Formula 1 this season, two years after he participated in a couple of races as a replacement for the injured-and-then-unfit Pascal Wehrlein.
Giovinazzi was also a substitute in another championship beforehand – via an incident that also involved the then-Mercedes protégé.
Audi and Mercedes were locked in a fierce battle for the DTM title through 2015 and in Austria contender Wehrlein was punted into the gravel in an incident instigated by Audi’s Timo Scheider, following a radio message to “schieb ihn raus”, which translates as “push him out”. Scheider was excluded from that race and banned from the next round in Russia.
Giovinazzi, then leading the Formula 3 standings, had already impressed Audi during a rookie test and was given the opportunity to pilot its RS5 at the Moscow Raceway, having already been scheduled to carry out ‘taxi’ demonstration runs on behalf of the outfit.
Giovinazzi had a quiet weekend, placing 19th and 21st respectively in the two races, but had eyed the series as a long-term option for a professional motorsport career.
But fortunately for his Formula 1 prospects he was handed a chance in GP2 by Prema for the following season, ran team-mate Pierre Gasly close for the crown, and interest in his services piqued. He held talks with Mercedes but ultimately Ferrari came calling…
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