Ferrari F1 reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi, who currently competes in the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship driving for Ferrari – AF Corse, considers it an honor to represent the Italian side in their comeback to top-class competition at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, regarding the renowned endurance race as one of the “top three” events in his motorsport career.
The former Alfa Romeo F1 man is gearing up for his second participation at Le Mans, returning to the race after a five-year hiatus since his debut in 2018, driving a GTE-Pro class AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE alongside Toni Vilander and Pipo Derani.
Following his initial Le Mans experience, Antonio Giovinazzi transitioned to a full-time role in Formula 1 with Alfa Romeo, with the support of Ferrari, following his time in the Ferrari Driver Academy. His time in Formula 1 did not live up to expectations and after three years, the Italian decided to join Ferrari’s Le Mans Hypercar program, partnering with James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi.
Antonio Giovinazzi expressed his nostalgia for his first Le Mans race, acknowledging that while he retains fond memories, certain details have faded from his recollection.
“It’s a long time ago,” he said in a recent interview for Sportscar365. “But especially the track, it was one of the best races of my career. You see the passion here is crazy. People are here for 24 hours in the grandstand, just trying to support you, follow you. So this year is 100 years for this event, 50 years that Ferrari is back in this race in the top class. So let’s enjoy. I think we have a fast car and we can put some pressure to Toyota, that I think is the main competitor.” – the Italian explained.
“I’m just really proud, proud to be here, proud to be with Ferrari. Ferrari will be back [in the top class] after 50 years. I’m an Italian driver, so when I’m racing in a red suit, it’s always a privilege. Now let’s make history with them in this category that I think we deserve.” – the Ferrari man pointed out.
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While he is also focused on his F1 reserve duties for the Maranello team, Antonio Giovinazzi admitted that this event is among some of the top moments of his motorsport experience:
“It’s top three for sure. Racing in Formula 1 in Monaco, Monza for me was special. But being racing here in Le Mans in a Ferrari is something special as well.” – he added.
In his previous participation at Le Mans, Antonio Giovinazzi achieved an impressive top-five finish, securing the fifth position in his class as the leading GTE-Pro Ferrari. Although he has prior experience at the event, the Italian does not expect to transfer a significant amount of knowledge from his previous race to this season’s Le Mans event:
“I’d say that it’s not much because I was racing with the GT [car],” he explained – “I remember racing and watching more of the cars behind to give enough space and survive in the traffic. Here with the Hypercar you are the faster car, so you need to just focus on overtaking the other cars. In the night as well, I remember it was really tricky. But in the Hypercar it will be different. So, fortunately it was an experience for me in terms of knowing the track, how it is, all the bumps and everything, but it’s a different thing.”
In the initial three rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship, Ferrari emerged as the primary contender to the dominant Toyotas. They impressively secured pole position at Sebring and consistently achieved podium finishes throughout each race.
While acknowledging Toyota’s superiority at Le Mans, Antonio Giovinazzi emphasized that Ferrari’s strategy will revolve around applying pressure to the Japanese manufacturer.
“Let’s see, I think we have a fast car. For sure Toyota is the main team to beat. You know, they have more experience, they know how to win this race. We need to just give some pressure to them. It’s a long race, 24 hours. If we can push them and give pressure, they do a mistake or something can happen. So, I think the main priority is to give pressure to them.” – the Italian concluded.
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