Will Giovinazzi ever be hot enough to melt the Iceman?
Kimi Raikkonen started the 2019 season with solid drives in almost every session of the first half of the campaign, whilst his teammate at Alfa Romeo, Antonio Giovinazzi, struggled, to keep up with the 2007 World Drivers' Champion.
At the end of the first half of the season, Raikkonen had scored 31 points, comfortably ahead of Giovinazzi and made it easy for fans who participate in betting. If you are interested in sports betting you can learn more here about dedicated sports betting apps. However, the Italian has been catching up to the Iceman and has been outperforming him in the second half which made predictions a lot harder.
Giovinazzi's improvements have become a norm in the second half, with the Italian scoring points in two of the five races, while Raikkonen has not scored since his seventh-placed finish in the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix. The second half of the Italian has been solid and it should have been better without his crash in the closing stages of the Belgian Grand Prix whilst running eighth.
Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo Racing C38, action during 2019 Italy Grand Prix, at Monza - Photo Florent Gooden / DPPI
Despite his career-best finish at Monza (eighth) and his P10 at Singapore, where he even led the race, Giovinazzi's qualifying form is his real asset in the fight against his experienced teammate. Since the start of the year, it looked as if Raikkonen was about to obliterate Giovinazzi. The Italian had last competed in a Formula One race during his participation in the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix of 2017 with Sauber.
Raikkonen started strong and had scored 13 points in the first six races of the year. In qualifying, the Finnish started dominating Giovinazzi 5-1 until the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. However, in the Canadian Grand Prix, Giovinazzi made it through Q2, while Raikkonen fell eliminated in Q1. It was a turning point for the Italian since he has outqualified Raikkonen 6-5 in the last 11 races.
What is interesting is Raikkonen has been in a slump recently, with the Finn scoring points only once in the last seven Grands Prix. Raikkonen has dipped compared to his early-season form when he scored points in seven of the first 10 events. The Italian, on his side, needs to find consistent performances during race day. He finished inside the top ten twice in the five races since the summer break, but he should've secured his P8 at Spa-Francorchamps. It is great for Giovinazzi to see his name consistently ahead of Raikkonen lately, but still, the Iceman has finished in front of him 14 times on Sunday.
Many rumours surround Giovinazzi's spot at Alfa Romeo for 2020. Soon-to-be former Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg is tipped to be Gio's possible replacement after he failed to keep his Renault seat and did not reach deal with Haas. With this environment revolving over him, Giovinazzi is showing a tough-minded attitude in the second half of the year.
Antonio Giovinazzi with fans during 2019 Italy Grand Prix at Monza - Photo Florent Gooden / DPPI
The qualifying battle between the two racers still favours Raikkonen (10-7). However, it is one of the most equalled qualifying duels of the grid. Similar to the numbers between the Mercedes drivers (Lewis Hamilton leads Valtteri Bottas 10-7), and Ferrari drivers (Charles Leclerc leads Sebastian Vettel 10-7). Other qualifying battles which are similarly matched are the ones between the McLaren racers (Lando Norris leads Carlos Sainz 9-8) and Haas drivers (Kevin Magnussen leads Romain Grosjean 9-8).
Giovinazzi has qualified ahead of Raikkonen in the last three races in a row, which was impressive since he was participating in a race for the first time in two of those three tracks (Marina Bay Street Circuit and Suzuka). Although Raikkonen still is dominating in the intrateam battle with a 27-point gap over his teammate, Giovinazzi is showing his worth during Saturdays.
The Italian must work on his racecraft for the final four races of the year if he is to challenge Raikkonen's superiority inside the team and, most importantly, to secure his drive for 2020. The qualifying battle between these two drivers might be decided in the last race at Abu Dhabi, would you bet on Giovinazzi to outperform Raikkonen in the remaining four qualifying sessions?
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