Antonio Giovinazzi “may be one of” Ferrari’s drivers in the future

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto has said that Antonio Giovinazzi “may be one of” Ferrari’s future drivers depending on his performances for Alfa Romeo Racing in the 2020 Formula 1 season.

Giovinazzi is part of the Ferrari Driver Academy and entered his full rookie season in F1 with Alfa Romeo for 2019, having previously filled in for Pascal Wehrlein at Sauber for two races in 2017.
 
But the Italian’s start to the year wasn’t the best and was outshone the majority of the time by teammate Kimi Raikkonen, later picking up performances towards the end.
 
"Antonio may be one of the Ferrari drivers in the future, but we will first have to see how he performs next year," Binotto told Autosprint.
 
"Based on his performance this season, I have to be honest and say it wasn't good enough to be able to go to Ferrari. He first has to take a step for that."
 
The 26-year old finished second in the 2016 GP2 championship but never committed to any racing team or other championship until this year.
 
Binotto feels that his time out of racing may have affected his performance but us glad he improved throughout the season.
 
"We are often very positive about Giovinazzi and that is partly due to his strong performance in 2019," Binotto said.
 
"He has had an excellent season and has taken a big step.
 
"You have to remember that Antonio had not really raced for two seasons before he was allowed to join Alfa Romeo.
 
"From that position, it is not easy to enter Formula 1 and keep up with the competition.
 
“However, he managed to get closer to Raikkonen in the second half of the season and that is a great achievement."