Antonio Giovinazzi said Alfa Romeo’s performance in qualifying was “really sad” after its result in the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The team scored its best result of the season at Interlagos as Giovinazzi finished fifth behind team mate Kimi Raikkonen. But neither managed to get out of Q1 in Abu Dhabi.The two C38s lapped over 1.8 seconds slower than they managed at this race last year. Giovinazzi said he didn’t know why the team were so slower.
“We need to check a little bit more,” he said. “It’s really sad after a good performance in Brazil.”
Giovinazzi suspects the change in tyre compounds from Brazil has played a role. Pirelli brought its hardest tyre compounds – C1, C2 and C3 – in Brazil, but is using the softest rubber – C3, C4 and C5 – this weekend.
“We expected a better performance especially after Brazil,” said Giovinazzi. “We came here, we knew that the compound was completely different from Brazil – here we have the soft and in Brazil a stiffer one. [But] it’s really difficult.
“Tomorrow will be a difficult race for sure. We have a lot of cars in front of us, but to have a good first lap and we’ll see what happens.”
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