Giovinazzi to leave Alfa Romeo at the end of F1 2021

The Hinwil-based team has already signed Valtteri Bottas as a replacement for Kimi Raikkonen, while Chinese F2 driver Guanyu Zhou is expected to fill the second seat.

Zhou’s announcement is imminent with the second Alfa Romeo drive the final seat on the grid to be confirmed ahead of next season.

Giovinazzi bows out of Alfa Romeo after three seasons, having initially made his debut for Sauber in 2017.

The Italian’s best result came at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix where he finished fifth, while he led the race in Singapore earlier that season. 

Despite taking steps forward in qualifying in 2021, Giovinazzi has struggled for race consistency, scoring points on just one occasion.

The writing has been on the wall for Giovinazzi as tensions with the team have grown in recent races as he ignored team orders in Turkey and complained publicly about Alfa Romeo’s strategy in Mexico.

“Saying goodbye to a driver is never easy, especially so in the case of Antonio, who has been part of the team for so long,” said Alfa Romeo team boss Frederic Vasseur.

“As we part ways, we will cherish the memories of the good times and learn lessons from the bad ones, knowing these moments all made us grow together as a team.

“We wish Antonio the best for his future after the 2021 season: before then, we still have three races to achieve some good results together and finish the year strongly.”

Alfa Romeo currently sits ninth in the constructors’ championship with three rounds to go, 12 points behind Williams