24/10/2021
NEWS STORY
Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN booked a place in Q2 during qualifying for the 2021 United States Grand Prix in Austin, as Antonio Giovinazzi set the 13th fastest time on Saturday afternoon. Team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen, was 18th as both drivers will make up places for tomorrow's race at the Circuit of the Americas, owing to penalties to other drivers.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal: "We finish Saturday knowing we are in a good position to fight for the points in tomorrow's race. Antonio had a good session, with a strong first lap in Q1 that was enough to go through, and in Q2 he kept it clean to be in 13th - which should mean P12 on the grid tomorrow. We saw how difficult it was to put a full lap together, each corner can catch you out with the bumps and the wind and many laps got cancelled. Unfortunately Kimi was a victim of these conditions and couldn't progress from Q1, but with penalties to some other drivers he should still be starting in a competitive position. We'll see how the race unfolds tomorrow: we've seen some exciting ones here in the past, so we will need to be at our sharpest to make sure we make the most of anything that happens."
Kimi Raikkonen: "Not a good day at the office, none of the laps we did was any good. I got sideways on my first lap, the second got cancelled and in my final run I also had a moment and from then on, the lap was gone. It's not ideal, it was one of those days in which nothing goes well. We'll make up a few places with the penalties, but we will need to be sharper in the race."
Antonio Giovinazzi: "Not a bad result in the end, we will be starting just outside the top ten with a free choice of tyres, which can be an advantage as we saw that running with the softs is not easy. I'm happy with the job we have done today: my first lap in Q1 was good, enough to go through as I lost the rear on the exit of T1 in my second run. This time we got lucky, for a change! Our race pace wasn't bad in practice, so let's see how tomorrow goes. The aim is to drive into the points: we'll analyse the different scenarios and hope to pull off a good first lap, which would help us fight for the top ten."