General
Giovinazzi: "Rusty? I haven't raced in two years before"
- GPblog.com
For every driver and the teams it is a strange situation to start racing again after such a long time. Many drivers are on top of their fitness, but haven't been in the car for a while. Some have still tested, but anyway the drivers will have to get used to it as soon as they start free practice on Friday, although everyone claims not to be rusty.
Two years
An advantage that Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi has is that he is familiar with a long break between racing. For example, he was not active in Formula 1 in the years 2017 and 2018. Because of this he doesn't worry much about the start of the season next weekend. "I am curious to see how everyone does in Austria and to see what happens with two races in the same venue; it’s a first for Formula One so it will be something we will need to adapt to."
"As for being rusty after so many months away, I am not worried about that: I didn’t race for two years between 2017 and 2019, so, if anything, I will try to turn that into an advantage", says the Italian driver in the team preview at the first Grand Prix.
Chaotic race
The team boss of Alfa Romeo, Frederic Vasseur, who sees the start of the championship as a race full of opportunities. "The first race of the season is often a chaotic affair and that’s when opportunities arise: we will need to be ready to take any." In other words, Vasseur hopes that a lot will happen, but that his drivers will stay out of harm's way to take advantage of it.
Raikkonen also states that they should take every opportunity: "With so many races in so little time, we need to make the most of every event and score points every time we get the chance. It’s hard to tell where everyone stands, but we will find out soon enough."