Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo, Circuit de Catalunya, 2019

Giovinazzi says team is more motivated than it was two years ago

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In the round-up: Antonio Giovinazzi says the biggest difference between Alfa Romeo now and when he made his F1 debut for the team, then called Sauber, two years ago, is how motivated the staff are.

What they say

The people in the team is the same people I had back in 2017. So for now it’s just a different name.

But so far I think I would say on the team there is more motivation than back in 2017 because already from last year they get a good result and is something really good for the team. New drivers, Kimi [Raikkonen] is a world champion driver, so the motivation in the people in the team is really high.

This is also really good to see from the driver, from my view. It’s the same people just with more motivation.

Quotes: Dieter Rencken

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Comment of the day

“Drive to Survive” gets a big thumbs-up from Barry:

Just finished episode 10 (and last episode of the series). Have to say it’s the best coverage/behind the scenes/interviews etc I’ve seen in a very long time.

Maybe Netflix should do the actual race coverage too.
Barry Duckett (@Barryged)

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On this day in F1

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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20 comments on “Giovinazzi says team is more motivated than it was two years ago”

  1. I’m not surprised at the improved motivation at Sauber – from running year-old Ferrari engines, and almost becoming a rolling Honda testbed/McLaren B-team (not to mention the financial constraints that led to those decisions), they’ve now become Ferrari’s B-team, have secured an experienced driver and former WDC, and have a prestigious marque in the team’s name.

  2. Like the COTD, I loved Drive To Survive too!
    The biggest negative is the recap and coming next at the start and end of episodes which are unnecessary on Netflix show most will watch in less 10 days (for normal people, less 10 hours for most of us!)
    It also reminded me at how annoyed I get at the intelligence-insulting bleeping we hear throughout the season on live broadcasts!! The technology exists for additional audio tracks, why not use one for normal people who’s ears don’t bleed from hearing some real-world language! :)
    Lastly, the absence of Mercedes and Ferrari isn’t that big a deal in the end!

    When do they announce season 2?

    1. I honestly believe that the absence of those two teams actually makes it better. We now get a much deeper insight on those teams which we otherwise might not have gotten.

      Didn’t even register at first, but indeed a non bleep audio is much better than the supposedly child friendly version of TV.

      1. Call me vulgar or what have you…

        But that’s because the midfield battle in the hybrid era has been effin’ awesome.

  3. re: CoTD… If Netflix can’t perform the race coverage…perhaps they could release an episode after each race, so the content is topical rather than pretend historical theater. Episodes that include the other A teams. There’s a massive gap to the front. ;-)

    For me, once all the hollywood faux drama parts and Boom! Boom! Smash! Smash! sequences are removed there’s about 5 minutes of informative content per episode. By showbiz standards that’s quite good. By documentary standards, it’s quite poor.

    The Ocon fictional timeline dramatics episode ruined the producers’ credibility – which is possibly why the deceptive filmmakers were permitted inside the garage – the truth won’t be shown on TV.

    Very little actual behind the scenes footage – because F1 paranoia. However, it does give some insight into the sociopathic nature of the piranha club.

    Horner is never caught off script. No wonder he was considered the best candidate to be Bernie’s successor. Not just an accomplished TP, he’s the consummate calculating politician. Would not like to run into him in a dark alley wearing a Renault cap.

    1. there’s about 5 minutes of informative content per episode. By showbiz standards that’s quite good. By documentary standards, it’s quite poor.

      I saw a 4 hour documentary this week which had even less content.

      1. Probably not from the UK

    2. I loved the bit with Alonso in winter testing when his wheel fell off. “They need to be here? This critical moment?”

      I agree that it felt like it was forcing itself to be pretty dramatic as opposed to documentarial. I’m left wondering if it was made for fans of F1 or to attempt to introduce people to it. Judging by the reception online with the former it’s a huge success, but I wonder if anyone else is giving it concessions along the way assuming it is made for the latter. I certainly groaned at a few unnecessary loose descriptions, yet wondered why so much was left unexplained.

      It will be interesting to see if it catches the interest of the general public, and as consequence how the next series goes.

    3. BlackJackFan
      10th March 2019, 3:04

      Great, and honest, if cynical (who’d’a thunk it…), review…

  4. So nice to hear only positivity coming out of the Sauber camp. It’s easy to forget that just a few years ago, the team was in utter shambles. We shouldn’t underestimate the job that Freddy Vasseur has done, and continues to do there.

    Hope Kimi gets a few good results.

    1. We shouldn’t underestimate the job that Freddy Vasseur has done

      Exactly, and this is one of the main reasons I’m so critical of the top managers at McLaren and Williams. They had significantly more funds and a lot more time, but still failed miserably.

      1. BlackJackFan
        10th March 2019, 3:05

        ditto that… plus, they had a lot more experience as well…

      2. Freddie did a lot of work, but he was aided by the fact Ferrari decided to buy the team after Honda had shown interest. So one could argue, Honda would also have made progress albeit much slightly much slower.

  5. So if I go to the Shell servo I’ll get 20% more power for only 5% more money. What a great deal !

    1. If only you could find the party mode button on your steering wheel to unlock that extra 20% ;)

  6. I must say that after watching the whole Netflix series it’s actually pretty bad. It is a typical Netflix “documentary” where they try to portrait this sport as dangerous with heaps of drama. It’s clearly only for people that no nothing about F1. This might be of course good for the sport itself but there are so many things done and said just for the show. I’d much rather see the things we can’t see ourselves. Like the people behind the cars, drivers and team managers rather than just your usual overblown rivalry and drama.

    1. Strange, in the version I watched (4 episodes in do far, Spa not really covered yet) accidents and especially danger play only a very small role.
      All accidents were only covered as for the consequences for the team rather than danger for the drivers.
      And the only real reference to danger is Dani Ric’s mother and the ‘prepared to die’ comment by Magnussen.

  7. “The precise reason why the system was dropped has never been fully explained. A reasonable suggestion would be that the awarding of a single point for each fastest race lap actually made little or no difference to the outcome of the first ten world championships.”

    I would actually be more afraid that it would make a difference to the championship. Just seems too arbitrary.

  8. A meeting to discuss a future engine supply at McDonald’s, LOL. Not something that happens too often.

    1. They came as they were

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