Antonio Giovinazzi tried his luck in Formula 1 and Formula E, but only tasted victory in the WEC with Ferrari, which returned to Le Mans after several decades. In this interview, he discusses how he approached the legendary 24-hour race, his feelings after the somewhat unexpected win with the Maranello team, the dynamics of teamwork, and how he balances his WEC commitments with the role of a reserve driver in the Formula 1 team. Roksana Ćwik spoke to the Italian at Monza ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.
You are a winner of 24 hours Le Mans. How does it feel to win such a prestigious event?
I feel, still, very proud of this achievement, also of doing it with Ferrari. It's been a dream for me since I was a kid. My dream was to one day win a big race in a red suit with Ferrari. I didn't imagine that it would be Le Mans because Ferrari was missing from this category, from this race for such a long time. But I'm really proud because of what we did with the team. Le Mans was less than one year since we started to work together, and we achieved something fantastic for the brand and the team. Also, before that, we did score some podiums and pole positions and then, finally we won the biggest race in the championship, or in the world, I would say. So, yeah, really happy, really proud.
When was the first moment when did you learn that you will be driving in the Hypercar with Ferrari?
I started to test at the end of last year, but I just knew that I would join the team in January. Antonello [Coletta] called me and said that I would be part of this six-driver team, driving with the number 51 alongside Ale [Alessandro Pier Guidi] and James [Calado]. They won already in WEC, and in Le Mans, so I knew that I was in the team with the most experience. And I'm really happy with that because they teach me and I learn so many things from them in this championship that, in the end, was new for me, in terms of mentality and the format of the race. Just proud of my team, proud of my teammates, and really happy to be part of this family.
What was the crucial moment during the Le Mans race?
To be honest, that race was like a movie. It started to rain in the middle of the track and then the car didn't refire after the pit-stop two times...definitely, the last time was the most nervous one, you know, with just 28 minutes to go the car was sitting there in the pit lane, and we were really nervous because you cannot lose Le Mans with 28 minutes to go. There were plenty of moments. In the middle of the night the car was in the gravel with Ale, and we were lucky enough to be back in the track really fast. There was also the safety car, so with a new rule, we get back to one group, so it was just a special Le Mans because there were many competitors. Each factory was leading the race: Peugeot, Toyota, Cadillac. So, it was great and, of course, because – in the end – we won, and we were on that fabulous podium, which is one of the best. Maybe the only comparison is with Monza, but Le Mans, I can tell you, that was really special and with plenty of people down there, many red people, so it was great.
Regarding Monza and the race here, don't you think there's a bit of a difference between F1 and the WEC, especially when Toyota won here, everyone cheered on them.... Is it different from here at F1?
No. I think Monza is, of course, special because our Tifosi are supporting Ferrari, supporting Italy, and here in WEC was the same. But if Toyota won, you need to celebrate them as well. But it's not different, to be honest, if on Sunday – I hope not – Max would win, it will be the same, so it's nothing different. But it was great to see, the support that we received from Thursday. The paddock was open, and it was full of people, in front of our hospitality, and then also on Sunday in the grandstands. Here last year were 5,000 people and this year it was almost 75,000... So, it was great for Ferrari, for myself as well, for my teammates, Ale and Antonio [Fuoco], so it was good, and we celebrated also a little bit together the Le Mans, which was the previous race and then, the number 50 finished second. So, it could be better for us, but ultimately it was a great result for Ferrari as well.
Will you take revenge in Toyota's home race in Japan?
Why not, we will try, you know. Next week we will be there and, like you mentioned, it's Toyota's house. They won here [at Monza] and we will try to do our best there. It will be difficult. We know that Toyota is stronger than us, but we didn't expect to win Le Mans. So, we want to just keep pushing and take the fight for the championship to Bahrain. So, we need to just survive in Fuji, try to give pressure to them and then try to, like I said, take the competition until Bahrain.
Isn't it cool to see your car in the fan zone at Monza, and to know that F1 is cheering Ferrari in the Hypercar class?
Yeah, of course, the car is here, the trophy is here and plus, the livery is on the F1 car, with our yellow stripe. I'm just proud that also the F1 team celebrates us. I know that it's been a great result for Ferrari, and I'm really proud that our colours are on [F1] car and our car is here in the fan zone, the trophy is here, so it's good, it's great.
How is it to be paired with two current world champions, with James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi?
Like I mentioned, I was really happy when Antonello told me that I was part of this great team. They won a lot together: a championship, Le Mans, so many races. Ale also won the 24 hours of Spa-Francorchamps, so, they are a team that won already together a lot. And to be part of this team, for me, it was an extra boost because I was new to this championship and this format. I tried really to take plenty of things from them, and they were really open and allowed me to learn as much as I wanted. I remember in Le Mans, each night I was speaking to Ale and James, going through all the VSC, the slow zone, what can happen, how to react... So, it was good for me, because in the end it was my second Le Mans, but the first one was back in 2018 with the GTE car, so different things. But thanks to Ale and James, I was really ready, let's say. Before the race, I already knew what would happen, and how to react, so this is just thanks to them.
You mentioned the GTE car, and previously you also drove the LMP2 car. What was important for you was to drive those two cars before going to the Hypercars?
It was good because, you know, it just taught me how to approach a different race. It's not a sprint race, it's a six-hour race. I did six-hour races in Shanghai and Fuji in the LMP2 car, and with the GTE I just did 24 hours, so I had some experience there, but of course with the Hypercar it's entirely different because the management of the traffic is completely opposite. In the GTE and LMP2, you need to watch the mirrors and try to give enough space and to don't lose too much time. With Hypercar it's completely different – you need to just overtake at the right moment, at the right time, so this was new for each driver, because it was also a new situation for James and Ale. So, we learned this together from race one to Le Mans and I think we did a great and fantastic job because we had not a single mistake in Le Mans, and I can tell you that it's really difficult to not make any mistakes in 24 hours.
Have you got any plans to take an opportunity to drive GT car again in the future?
I don't know, to be honest. Now I'm really happy where I am. I'm really enjoying myself in this new chapter of my career. Of course, winning Le Mans already in the first season is something that I didn't expect, but there is still a lot more to do it. We are back in the fight for the championship this year after Le Mans, so we need to – like I mentioned before – to fight until the end, and then we have many years to do plenty of good things, I think it's a championship that is growing up really big. Many manufacturers coming also next year, Lamborghini, Alpine, BMW, so it's a great championship and I want to do really well there.
You also spent one season in Formula E. Did you benefit from it in terms of racing aspects?
To be honest, I'm racing since I was a kid in karting, in Formula 4, in Formula 3, and Formula E was the only category where the car was completely different from what I used to drive. I struggled quite a lot in that season, but every year and every experience make you a better driver. For example, I learned how to manage the battery and everything that now we also have in Hypercar, where there is a hybrid engine, so it's important as well to manage the battery and everything. Every experience just makes you a better person, and a better driver.
Don't you think that Formula E is more aggressive?
No, not really. Of course, racing is really aggressive, but we also race really aggressively in Hypercar. The cars are of course less sensitive. In F1, if you touch the front wing a little bit, you lose some downforce, so it's not great for you. But I can tell you that in Hypercar we can really touch the car. It's a strong car, made to do 24 hours race, so it's really strong, and we can have a lot of fun, and you can be really aggressive.
Do you feel at peace with your career in F1?
Yeah, I feel great to be where I am. I did three years in F1, I did my maximum. Maybe it was not the right time, in the right conditions, because we know that in F1 it's the priority to have the right car and the right moment. I did three years beside the Kimi Räikkönen, the World Champion, and I was fighting in every race with him, so nothing to complain about, to be honest. I'm really happy where I am now with all the experience I achieved, and I hope many, many things will happen in the future.
Would you perhaps like to see WEC racing on street circuits at some point in the future, like Formula 1 or Formula E?
It would be difficult. Next year there will be around 40 cars on the grid and racing on a street circuit with 40 cars is a little bit dangerous, I would say. But you never know what will happen in the future. In the calendar next year will be one race more, there will be eight races. We will go to São Paulo as well, so it's great. Like I say, it's growing up, and you never know, but maybe we will be racing on a street track, and we don't know. Like I mentioned, I see it difficult, with so many cars and so many overtakes... I find myself overtaking five, six cars each lap, and on a street track it's not the same thing. Also, Le Mans is in some part, a street track in itself.
You won Le Mans in Ferrari, of course, but some people are saying it's AF Corse, not a Ferrari from Maranello. Do you think it will do you any difference?
The race operations part might be AF Corse, but all the engineering is done in Maranello, so it's very much a Ferrari effort. We also ask you to help us make everybody understand this fact, that Maranello is very much involved. If it wasn't, the trophy would not be here, but stayed at AF Corse in Piacenza.
Any plans for the future, besides WEC?
I don't think now about the future, you know, I think about the 6h of Fuji next week and then another race in Bahrain in November. Plus, I will be here in F1, as a reserve driver, for the last few races. So, for now, I just focus on this. As I said, I'm really happy where I am. But the future, you never know. But just focus now on the present, on the fight for the championship, and then we'll see.
You are also an F1 simulator driver and share this role with Robert Schwartzman, among others. On Friday, he was the one testing in the simulator. How much this part of your work for Ferrari has changed now that you are in the WEC?
No, we just share with Robert and also with Antonio [Fuoco] and Davide [Rigon]. So, we are a team of four development drivers. And for the reserve driver part, we do just some races – I do some of them and Robert the others. So, because we are busier, we need to just find ourselves how to manage the two calendars, because we also do a lot of tests with the Hypercar. It's really difficult like that. But in the end, it didn't change much. We just do like with more drivers the same job and try to share all together to just one goal – make the best for Charles and for Carlos.
You mentioned Antonio Fuoco. He had a very big moment at Spa-Francorchamps because of the lack of tyre blankets. What is your opinion about them? Do you think F1 should think about it before they will change those regulations?
Yeah, I think it was the right call to get the blankets back for Le Mans. You know, it's just a safe choice in the end. Like we saw Antonio is a professional driver. He's racing since he was a kid, so losing the car on the straight like that is not nice, and really dangerous. Because if some drivers come and don't see you, there will be an accident. So, it was good for Le Mans, because night driving is not the same. If you spin on the straight at night, it's difficult to see. In Japan we will come back to the normal rules. But let's see. For me, when it's a matter of safety, we need to be careful and think about that.
Thank you so much. It was a big pleasure. Thank you for your time.
My pleasure.
