'Giovinazzi deserves a place at Alfa next season!'

Based off of recent performances, Antonio Giovinazzi deserves to retain his place at Alfa Romeo Racing, according to Sky Italia analyst Davide Valsecchi, with the Italian scoring points in two of the last three races.

Giovinazzi struggled at the start of what essentially is his rookie season, having raced just two times before for Sauber in 2017. His teammate Kimi Raikkonen was hauling in points for the Italian side while Giovinazzi didn't get on the board until Austria, when he finished tenth.

However, his qualifying pace has significantly picked up compared to Raikkonen.

Since the summer, he's been better during races as well, getting close to a points finish in Spa before crashing on the final lap, and scoring in the following two rounds in Italy and Singapore.

Based on those recent performances, Valsecchi thinks his fellow countryman deserves another look in 2020.

"I think they have to keep Antonio," he said on Sky Italia.

"He deserves a seat next season based on the last few races. Antonio missed a lot of chances in the first part of the season; he wasn't at his best," Valsecchi admitted.

"Last season [as testing driver], he crashed every time he got in the car. And that crash in Spa wasn't very helpful either. Maybe he's not the smartest, but I'm happy he's getting results now. That matters."