Giovinazzi Reflects On “Strange” Duel With Sebastian Vettel During Eifel GP

The past few weeks have been good for Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi. Having collected points finishes in the past few races, the team also confirmed him as their driver for 2021.

One of those good moments also consisted of tackling Sebastian Vettel in the heart of the lower midfield battle. Fighting for a points finish in the Eifel GP, Giovinazzi just got the better of the German in the race.

Speaking in an interview, Giovinazzi stated, “First of all, it’s nice to fight a Ferrari because it doesn’t happen very often. I remember the Eifel Grand Prix, where he sat on my neck for 80 percent of the race and was ready to take me from behind attack.” (translated via Google Translate)

Beating Sebastian Vettel a wonderful emotion, says Giovinazzi

It is not every day that you go toe-to-toe with a former champion and ultimately come out on top. Albeit for a P10 finish, the Italian revealed just how special a moment it was in Nurburgring.

“First of all, it’s … strange. It doesn’t happen in every race, but when it happens it’s nice. After all, he is a four-time world champion with a lot of experience.”

“It was difficult to keep him behind, and at the same time it was nice to finish ahead of him. Those are wonderful emotions,” concluded Giovinazzi in his remarks.

Alfa Romeo have recently had both drivers racing in the midfield during the races. This was despite their poor qualifying record, which often sees them restricted to the bottom five places.

Vettel would have liked to finish higher than the existing tally

Ferrari’s problems are well-documented this season. After all, one would expect Ferrari to be at the front of the grid more often than not.

It has also brought out the worst in Sebastian Vettel to an extent. The German with a better car would easily make his way up the grid. He wouldn’t continue to slog his way through the lower midfield.

In that regard, it will interest to see if Vettel can himself put an end to these woes when he moves to Aston Martin next year. Perhaps, if he does encounter Giovinazzi by any chance during a race, he might be able to come out on top.