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ANTONIO GIOVINAZZI - ALFA ROMEO SAUBER F1 TEAM

The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 team has announced that next year Antonio Giovinazzi will take over from another Ferrari junior Charles Leclerc who is being promoted to a Ferrari drive which means the Swiss team will be dropping Marcus Ericsson from a race seat at the end of the season.

With Kimi Raikkonen announced last week as moving from Ferrari to Sauber next year to make way for Leclerc’s promotion it means that Sauber ends a long run of filling seats with pay drivers. Ericsson, the team announced today, will however remain with the team dropping to the position of third driver as well as playing the role of ambassador. The Swede, who is close to the team’s owners, ends four years racing for Sauber which started in 2015 after a season with the Caterham team.

The news further cements Ferrari’s influence with the Sauber team, having been involved in engineering Raikkonen's move, and also confirms Alfa Romeo’s title sponsorship will continue for another year. It also means a completely new driver line up for next year.

A press released issued today by the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team read: “Alfa Romeo and the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team are delighted to announce that Antonio Giovinazzi will race alongside 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Raikkonen, completing the team's driver line-up for the 2019 season.

“Following its tradition of discovering and nurturing young talents, the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team has appointed the Italian driver, who has worked with the team for the past two years, to race in place of Charles Leclerc," read the statement.

“The decision to elect Antonio Giovinazzi is particularly significant in the scope of the project that this season saw the return of Alfa Romeo to the pinnacle of motorsports after a hiatus of more than 30 years," the press release continued. "The coming together of Alfa Romeo and the Italian driver was natural, also considering the strong bond that has tied Giovinazzi to the brand from an early age, and is a source of national pride considering that several years have passed since an Italian driver has competed in Formula One.

24-year-old Giovinazzi made his Formula One debut with Sauber at the 2017 Australian Grand Prix where he stood in for the injured Pascal Wehrlein and also replaced him for the following race in China. Prior to that he was European F3 Champion in 2015 and GP2 runner up in 2016 before joining Ferrari as their third driver for 2017. This year Giovinazzi became the third driver for the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team and has completed several tests and FP1 sessions.

"I am delighted to be joining the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team,” said Giovinazzi in a statement today. “This is a dream come true, and it is a great pleasure to have the chance to race for this team. As an Italian, it is a huge honour for me to represent a brand as iconic and successful as Alfa Romeo in our sport. I would like to thank the Scuderia Ferrari and the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team for giving me this great opportunity. I am very motivated and cannot wait to start working towards achieving great results together."

Meanwhile Frédéric Vasseur, CEO of Sauber Motorsport and Team Principal of the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team added: "We're very pleased to reveal the complete driver line-up for the 2019 season. We first signed Kimi Räikkönen, an extremely experienced driver who will contribute to the development of our car and will accelerate the progress of our team as a whole. Together with Alfa Romeo, we are delighted to welcome Antonio Giovinazzi, who will take the place of Charles Leclerc. We have already had the opportunity to work with him in the past and he has proven to have great potential. We are very determined and motivated. Our target is to continue progressing and fighting together for positions that count."

Photos: Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team - 2018 FIA F1 World Championship

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