Antonio Giovinazzi broke his silence hours after it was revealed that he would be leaving Formula One at the end of the season.
The team – who months ago announced Valtteri Bottas as the replacement for Kimi Raikkonen – revealed that Guanyu Zhou would be taking Giovinazzi’s seat next season.
The Italian driver may be leaving Formula One for now, but is not leaving the racing world and will be competing in Formula E for American team Dragon Penske.
In an emotional Instagram post, he said; “Unfortunately, we often struggle to find the right words to show out gratitude towards someone.
“But I think there’s nothing more beautiful than being able to say thank you.
“Thank you for everything and to those team members who have supported me through all these wonderful years.
“The biggest thank you is to my fans, who have always been close to me and made me feel their affection on every occasion.”
Speaking about his next move, he wrote; “It’s going to be thrilling.
“It’s going to be challenging. It’s going to be: …….electrifying!!!!!!”
On Monday, in a statement released by the team this week, they said; “Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN driver, Antonio Giovinazzi, will leave the team at the end of the 2021 Formula One championship, following three seasons with the Hinwil-based team.
“The Martina Franca-born racer, the first Italian to compete in a full F1 season since 2011 when he lined up for the team on the Melbourne grid in 2019, has taken part in 59 races with the Swiss squad so far – including two for Sauber in 2017 when he made his debut in lieu of an injured Pascal Wehrlein.”