Antonio Giovinazzi, one of just a few drivers in GP2 series history, who managed to with both feature and sprint race during one round. Due to his mature and unmistakable drive as well as many incidents from the other contenders, he managed to put himself up almost to the standings’ pinnacle. After three rounds in his rookie season in GP2 series he is currently sitting 3rd and he is looking for „some more wins”, what doesn’t even come to other drivers’ minds. He knows he is fast and he is not afraid of talking about it, neither to us. Right after that magnificat weekend in Baku we exchanged some words with Prema’s driver.
Wojtek Paprota: Antonio, you graduated to GP2 series from Formula 3, where you had managed to win races and be a frontrunner. Now, in your rookie season you are already at the same place, currently sitting 3rd in the championship. Is it surprising for you?
Antonio Giovinazzi: Yes, of course, to be here in terms of the championship now is a big surprise for me. But I think with a good team like Prema to work well and to be already there is much easier. I know here we are now doing a good job. The first races were a little bit unlucky but Baku was a fantastic weekend, so we just need to keep working like that and to do the same we did in Baku. It will be really hard, but we will try.
Wojtek: What can you say about the competitiveness of both series? Is there a real difference between them?
Antonio: F3 and GP2 are of course different series. F3 has more laps to drive especially in free practice. We have much more time before the qualifying that determinate the race. The tires in F3 are also different. In qualifying you have a lot of laps to do competitive lap time and in GP2 we have only one or maximum two laps. Then you need to manage the tires during both races, where in F3 you can push at every lap. It is completely different what makes it a big step, but as I said before, we are doing a good job with Prema to make it simple for me.
Wojtek: Last weekend in Baku you won both races what is an impressive achievement and only a few drivers in GP2 history managed to do so. How big impact does it have for you?
Antonio: Baku was a fantastic weekend for us. We came there and everything was new for everybody. We have already been very confident because everybody was starting from zero. For me everything was fantastic since the very beginning. Already from free practice we saw we were really strong, then we took our first pole, then the first race victory, and yes, second the race was fantastic as well. I have just had a problem at the first lap, but then, because of a fantastic pace and some safety car issues, we manage to win the race. Yes, it was sensational.
Wojtek: Baku street circuit is a new track and nobody neither has had the experience nor the data from this place. Do you think that it was a factor that increased your chances of getting a great result there?
Antonio: Like I said before, I think it was one of the main points to have such a good result as everyone started from zero. For us it was much easier. We worked really hard before the race in order to become really competitive right from the free practice. We saw already from the free practice that we were really strong and it really motivated us to keep that pace till the very end and win both races.
Wojtek: We also saw a lot of accidents taking place at the streets of Baku, what made many drivers to retire. One can say that it was also a factor that let you won both races last weekend, but I think that the skills and not making mistakes were also crucial. What do you think, was it more about the luck and coincidence or skills and your drive itself?
Antonio: Honestly, we often see a lot of crashes and safety car problems at street circuits. I think that it is a bit difficult to find a limit at a street track, because if you are over the limit you are in the wall. Of course, the fact that a lot of guys fail to do so helped me, but as you said, I could not have done it without a great drive. For me it was a really good weekend also because I haven’t made a single mistake, so my confidence was coming higher and higher. I think it is a balance.
Wojtek: What can you say about the safety features in Baku, as many drivers from Formula 1 criticized a lack of run-off areas and bumpy straight?
Antonio: As far as I am concerned it was right and now it is one of my favorite circuits, of course it is also because of the results. Basically, I like street tracks with heavy breaking zones and narrow parts, like the second sector in Baku and its last sector with some fast corners. It is a great combination so it is definitely one of my favorite tracks so far.
Wojtek: What was the key to winning there?
Antonio: Like I said before, the fact that many people were starting from zero was a really important factor, but apart from that, the unmistakable drive, that let me to build up my confidence. Of course, as always, an amazing job done my team, Prema, cannot remain unseen. Guys prepared the cars perfectly, and we saw the proof of it in the second race when we got a double victory.
Wojtek: Before the start of the season Luca Ghiotto, last year's GP3 series champion, said that GP2 is a completely different story and he was not expecting himself to be a frontrunner, as the first season in this category has to be spent on the learning process, even if you are a champion from the other series and a very talented driver. Do you agree with his opinion?
Antonio: I completely agree with him. I think that GP2 is one of the hardest championships in motorsport and coming here as a rookie from Formula 3 is quite a challenge. Many things have changed. Now I only have 45 minutes to prepare for qualifying when I only have one chance to put everything together. Also the pit stop in the feature race is something new for me as well as the one—hour distance. What is more, you need to manage the tires and you can’t change them in the sprint race. Everything is completely different and pretty challenging.
Wojtek: What target did you set for yourself at the beginning of the championship and are you expecting to change it throughout the year if you manage to keep the pace?
Antonio: Of course my target was to get some podiums and some wins, but my the main one and the most important one, I would say, was to improve the race pace round by round, learn as much as possible and to do my best.
Wojtek: Are you already 100% familiar with the car and your team?
Antonio: So far Prema is a fantastic team and I am really familiar with my mechanics and my engineer and we are working really well. I think that we can still improve the car. We have done just three weekends so far and my first time in GP2 was Abu Dhabi last year, the second day of the official test. I think I still can take more confidence with the car, but looking at the fact that we are taking on with the team very well, I think we are on our way to even bigger successes.
Wojtek: What kind of challenges you will have to face in the further part of the championship that may seem difficult for you?
Antonio: Of course our result in Baku was outstanding, the best possible, and we would love to repeat it, but honestly I’m not thinking about it too much. I just want to do everything step by step. We saw the pace is good and we can win a race, so we just keep focused and do a good job like we did in Baku.
