A reserve driver forSauber,Ferrari andHaas in2017, Giovinazzi made his Formula One debut for the former at theAustralian Grand Prix, replacing an injuredPascal Wehrlein for the opening two rounds of the season. Following another season as a reserve driver for Sauber and Ferrari in2018, Giovinazzi signed for Sauber—re-branded asAlfa Romeo—as a full-time driver for the2019 season. He scored his maiden points finish at theAustrian Grand Prix, with a career-best fifth inBrazil. Giovinazzi remained at Alfa Romeo for his2020 campaign, scoring several points finishes throughout the season. Retaining his seat for2021, he scored further points inMonaco andSaudi Arabia, before being dropped by Alfa Romeo at the conclusion of the season. Giovinazzi has since remained a reserve driver for Ferrari, a role he has held continuously since 2017.
Giovinazzi began karting in 2000.[5] In 2006, he became the champion in the Italian National Trophy 60cc and Euro Trophy 60 championships.[6] He was champion of theWSK Master Series in theKF2 class in both 2010 and 2011.[5]
Giovinazzi began his single seater career by competing inFormula Pilota China in 2012.[7] He finished as the overall champion in his debut season with a total of six wins. He also raced for theBVM team in the last round of the2012 Formula Abarth season atMonza. Despite winning two races and finishing in second place in one, he did not receive any points since he was a guest driver.[8]
Giovinazzi at the Hockenheimring round of the 2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship
In2013, Giovinazzi made his debut in theFIA Formula 3 European Championship with the Double R Racing team.[12] He scored his first points at the fourth round inBrands Hatch, finishing 11th in the first race.[13] His best result of the season was at the final race inHockenheim, where he finished 6th. Giovinazzi ended the season in 15th place in the championship with 45 points.
Giovinazzi in 2014
In 2014, Giovinazzi signed withJagonya Ayam with Carlin to compete in the2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship season.[14] His first Formula 3 podium came with a 2nd-place finish in Hockenheim. His first win came from pole position at theRed Bull Ring, before adding another win at the following round at theNürburgring. He ended the season in 6th place in the standings with 238 points, recording two wins, seven podium finishes, two pole positions and three fastest laps.
Giovinazzi continued in the championship with Jagonya Agam with Carlin in2015, in a field which included future Formula One competitorsCharles Leclerc,Lance Stroll,George Russell andAlexander Albon. He was a championship contender for much of the season, eventually losing out toFelix Rosenqvist. Giovinazzi ended the season as the championship runner-up, with 412.5 points. He recorded six wins, twenty podium finishes, four pole positions and four fastest laps. During the 2015 season he made his second appearance at theMasters of Formula 3 race, winning the race after starting from 2nd on the grid.
After the end of his European Formula 3 season, Giovinazzi entered the non-championship2015 Macau Grand Prix with Carlin, qualifying in 4th place. In the qualifying race, he caused a multi-car pile up on the first lap after colliding withDaniel Juncadella. Giovinazzi went on to win the qualifying race, but was later handed a 20-second penalty for the incident, demoting him to 10th. At the main event, he recovered to finish in 4th place.
After a poor start by finishing outside the points and losing reverse grid pole in the first two rounds, Giovinazzi scored victories in both the feature and sprint races inBaku, becoming the first driver to do 'the double' sinceDavide Valsecchi in2012.
Giovinazzi took pole position from his teammate Gasly atSpa, and won the Sprint Race after Gasly had won the feature race on Saturday.[16][17] AtMonza, he took pole position, but was disqualified from the session due to a technical infringement. Despite starting from the back of the grid, he won in the Feature Race after a mix up involving the safety car that worked in his favour.[18]
Giovinazzi took the lead of the championship atSepang by overtakingSergey Sirotkin late on for his 5th win of the season.[19] However,Pierre Gasly's victory in theAbu Dhabi feature race meant that Gasly led by 12 points into the final race.[20] Giovinazzi finished the final race ahead of Gasly asAlex Lynn won the race, however, after making a poor start, he was unable to overturn the 12-point gap, and Gasly won the championship by 8 points.[21]
On 5 September 2016, it was announced that Giovinazzi would perform simulator work for Scuderia Ferrari.[23][24] In December, he was confirmed as Ferrari's reserve driver.[25]
Giovinazzi participated in pre-season testing for the2017 season withSauber. In a similar fashion to hisDTM debut two years prior, he substituted for the injuredPascal Wehrlein at theAustralian Grand Prix. Wehrlein did not feel fit enough for a complete race distance due to his training deficit[26] as a result of a crash at the2017 Race of Champions. Giovinazzi finished 12th on his debut.[27] His debut meant he was the first Italian driver to start aFormula One race sinceJarno Trulli andVitantonio Liuzzi at the2011 Brazilian Grand Prix. Sauber announced that Giovinazzi would again replace Wehrlein for theChinese Grand Prix, where he crashed out during both qualifying and the race.[28]
Giovinazzi later participated in seven free practice sessions for theHaas F1 Team over the course of the 2017 season.[29] Giovinazzi remained a reserve and test driver for Sauber and Ferrari in2018. He took part in six free practice sessions for Sauber during the season.
Giovinazzi went eight races without scoring points until he scored his first at theAustrian Grand Prix, finishing 10th.[32] It was the first points finish for an Italian driver in Formula One sinceVitantonio Liuzzi finished sixth at the2010 Korean Grand Prix. The next race inBritain saw his first retirement of the season, after a mechanical problem caused him to spin out into a gravel trap.[33] He crashed out on the last lap of theBelgian Grand Prix, having been running in ninth place. It later emerged that the crash caused Alfa Romeo to consider Giovinazzi's future with the team, with team principalFrédéric Vasseur saying "We had a tough discussion with Antonio, because these kind of things can decide your career. We were thinking about the future."[34] At this stage of the season, Giovinazzi had collected one point, whilst teammate Räikkönen had scored 31.
The second half of the season was more successful for Giovinazzi. He claimed points a week after theBelgian Grand Prix with a ninth-place finish athis first home race in Formula One. On lap 27 of theSingapore Grand Prix, Giovinazzi led the race for four laps after the leaders had pitted. It was the first time he had led a Formula One Grand Prix race in his career. For Alfa Romeo, it was the first time sinceAndrea de Cesaris led in the1983 Belgian Grand Prix. Giovinazzi ultimately finished 10th, scoring points for the second consecutive race. At theBrazilian Grand Prix, he achieved his career best finish, crossing the line in sixth place before being promoted to fifth afterLewis Hamilton was penalised. Giovinazzi ended the season in 17th place in the championship with 14 points.
Giovinazzi and Räikkönen were retained by Alfa Romeo for the2020 season.[35]
Giovinazzi scored points at the first race of the season inAustria, qualifying 18th but finishing ninth after nine other cars retired from the race. On lap 11 of theBelgian Grand Prix, Giovinazzi lost control and crashed at turn 14. A stray wheel from his car hit theWilliams of George Russell, causing both to retire from the race.[36] He was involved in a high-speed accident at theTuscan Grand Prix during thesafety car restart, in which four cars were eliminated from the race. Two point-scoring finishes came at theEifel Grand Prix, where he held off the Ferrari ofSebastian Vettel to finish tenth, and at theEmilia Romagna Grand Prix, where he scored another tenth-placed finish after starting from last on the grid. At theTurkish Grand Prix, Giovinazzi reached the third qualifying session (Q3) for the first time since the2019 Austrian Grand Prix, qualifying 10th. He went on to retire from the race with gearbox problems.
Giovinazzi ended the season in 17th place in the drivers' championship. He scored four points, the same number as teammate Räikkönen, however Räikkönen placed above Giovinazzi by virtue of having more ninth-placed finishes. Giovinazzi outqualified Räikkönen at nine of the season's 17 races.[37]
Giovinazzi and Räikkönen were retained by Alfa Romeo for the2021 season.[38] Giovinazzi qualified 10th for theMonaco Grand Prix, his first Q3 appearance of the year. He finished the race in 10th place, scoring Alfa Romeo's first point of the season.[39] He would follow this up with eleventh inAzerbaijan.[40][41]
Giovinazzi left Alfa Romeo at the end of the2021 season,[42] and became reserve driver for Ferrari, sharing duties withMick Schumacher. As part of his 2021 contract, he also acted as a reserve driver for Ferrari's customer teams, Alfa Romeo and Haas.[43]
In September 2022, Giovinazzi participated in a test at theFiorano circuit with theFerrariSF21 together with the Russian-Israeli driverRobert Shwartzman, in order to prepare them both for free practice sessions throughout the season.[44]
Giovinazzi was a test driver forHaas in 2022, and competed in free practice sessions at theItalian andUnited States Grands Prix for the team,[45] though in the latter session the Italian could only run four laps before crashing and did not take further part in that practice.[46][47] He later apologised to his team for the mistake.[48][49] He took part in a test session withAlpine at theHungaroring in late September, alongsideNyck de Vries andJack Doohan.[50][51]
Giovinazzi's first victory as a factory Ferrari driver came at the2023 24 Hours of Le Mans.[56] His performance forms part of a historic win for the Italian marque, as it was 50 years after their last top-class entry in1973.
Giovinazzi retained his seat for the2024 season, in the same #51 lineup.[57] The season would be less successful for Giovinazzi with the 51 lineup finishing 8th in the drivers championship with 59 points scoring their best finish of third place atLe Mans.
^Giovinazzi selected the number 99 as his personal driver number, perFIA regulations; in2017, he competed using the standard reserve number 36 forSauber.