Giovinazzi’s first drive in the SF70H; 93 laps in Bahrain
“I enjoyed every single lap.” On every one of the 93 times that he sped past the Scuderia Ferrari pits, Antonio Giovinazzi must have had a big grin on his face under the helmet. It’s true that he’d already experienced a Prancing Horse Formula 1 car in Fiorano and is au fait with what Formula 1 is all about in 2017. However, the Ferrari he drove in that first test was the SF15-T, not bad for a first run but two years old. And when it came to this past winter testing and the first two GPs of the season, that experience came at the wheel of a Sauber.
But, truth be told, for an Italian driver, the first “real” day was surely this Tuesday in Bahrain. Antonio’s day began with a massage and some breakfast and that was followed with no less than nine hours of testing and even as we write, the technical debrief is still ongoing. Antonio showed maturity and professionalism at the wheel, setting a best lap of 1’31”984 on Supersoft tyres, although he spent more time running the Mediums and also when downloading information with his engineers. “To drive the car that won the last race and is leading the world championship, working with the Scuderia Ferrari engineers and mechanics, is not just a great feeling, it’s a dream I’ve had since I was little and racing in karts. And today it came true.”
The reality of testing however could be seen elsewhere, as Seb Vettel was working late into the evening, to make up for time lost earlier in the day, as he was at the wheel of another SF70H, working on a separate programme, tyre testing for Pirelli.
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