Italian driver Antonio Giovinazzi, who had to give up his Alfa Romeo seat at the end of 2021, will get a shot at the 2022 spec Formula 1 car with the Haas team. After losing his F1 seat, Giovinazzi joined Dragon Penske Racing to compete in Formula E. He was also retained by Ferrari to be their reserve driver alongside Mick Schumacher.
Giovinazzi had carried out FP1 duties with Haas in 2017. Team boss Guenther Steiner was happy to announce his participation in the upcoming sessions according to Ferrari’s directions. In his Formula E debut season, Giovinazzi has not been able to score a point as of yet. Discussing about his FP1 stints, Giovinazzi said, “I’m so glad to have the chance to drive again in official F1 sessions. Besides simulator driving, it is important to test a true car and I can’t wait to put my suit and helmet back on. It’ll be an opportunity to get confident with the new generation cars – it’s the best way to be ready if I were called as reserve driver. Driving on challenging and exciting tracks as Monza and COTA makes it even more thrilling. Thanks to Haas F1 Team and Scuderia Ferrari – I’m looking forward to giving my contribution to the team that counted on me already in 2017.”
Schumacher and Magnussen will let Giovinazzi drive for a session each. Apart from this Haas is also mandated to accommodate another FP1 session for a rookie. This will probably be reserved for their reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi. Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner said “We’re happy to welcome Antonio Giovinazzi back to the team for the two FP1 outings. Ferrari were keen to give Antonio some seat time in a current-spec Formula 1 car on a race weekend and we were naturally happy to assist. We enjoyed a similar situation back in 2017 with Antonio and Ferrari – the clear difference between then and now is the experience he’ll have gained competing for the previous three seasons in Formula 1 and the feedback he’ll be able to give us in Italy and America. I’m looking forward to seeing Antonio again and having him back in the paddock with us.”
