A disgusted Giovinazzi openly questioned his team’s tactics after the race. Stuck in traffic, he was unable to make the most of his strategy and watched Raikkonen take the points ahead of him. Giovinazzi delayed Raikkonen in TurkeyThe Mexico City race was a sore point for Giovinazzi, however, who crossed the line in 11th for the third consecutive race after running in seventh before an early solitary pit stop. When Raikkonen returned with his pending retirement at year’s end confirmed, he boosted his points tally considerably thanks to two eighth place finishes – first at the rain-affected Russian Grand Prix, then in Mexico, where the pair started an impressive tenth and 11th on the grid. Unsurprisingly, Giovinazzi finished ahead of his substitute team mate on both occasions – but only by one position each time. Raikkonen missed two rounds once the season resumed after testing positive for Covid, being replaced by Robert Kubica.
Giovinazzi scored the team’s first point of the year in Monaco, but Raikkonen drew level at the next round in Baku, then took a second point for tenth in Hungary before the summer break. Raikkonen lost a ninth place finish in Imola after falling foul of a very particular quirk in the restart regulations following a spin on the way back to the grid, before an embarrassing error in Portugal saw him drive into his team mate at the end of the opening lap, which ended Raikkonen’s race. Points were harder to come by for Alfa Romeo in 2021 compared to previous seasons.
Giovinazzi comfortably out-qualified Raikkonen 13-6 over the course of the season, taking a dominant 8-1 lead over the opening rounds. He produced almost certainly his best season this year. Over time Giovinazzi, who had started just two races as a substitute when he joined Raikkonen for the 2019 campaign, steadily improved against the former world champion.
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