Giovinazzi happy with P7 finish: 'Hopefully we can carry on this form tomorrow'

After securing Alfa Romeo's first points of 2021 last time out in Monaco, Antonio Giovinazzi is hopeful of another points finish in Baku. The Italian driver has impressed so far this season, and after an encouraging FP1 session, he really showed his skill in FP2. He finished the second practice session in P7, ahead of both Mercedes'.

The likelihood of him bettering one, or even both, of the Mercedes in qualifying is slim to say the least, but the early signs are promising for the team.

“The car felt good from the start: FP1 wasn’t too bad and we made a step forward in the second session. I am happy with what we saw in both the qualifying and the race simulations," the Italian driver said in a press release.

Looking forward to qualifying

After finally breaking into the top 10 in qualifying and the race in Monaco, Giovinazzi is getting the most out of the car, but he isn't getting too carried away just yet: "It’s only Friday but I’m satisfied to be seventh in the standings, hopefully we can carry on this form tomorrow. There are still a few little things to improve, of course, but we can be happy so far.

"Tomorrow we will need to put everything together, as always, and make sure we make the most of the tow as it will be critical. We will try our best and hopefully have a good result.”

His Alfa Romeo teammate Kimi Raikkonen ended FP2 in P12, just under two tenths down on Giovinazzi.