Binotto: Giovinazzi must improve to be considered by Ferrari

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto admits that Antonio Giovinazzi has not yet shown strong enough form to be considered for a race seat at the Maranello squad.

Giovinazzi, who is part of the Ferrari Drivers' Academy, took part in his rookie F1 season in 2019, racing with Alfa Romeo alongside Kimi Raikkonen.

After a shaky start to the year, Giovinazzi impressed further into the season, matching and beating Raikkonen in qualifying on numerous occasions. 

MORE: GPToday.net's 2019 F1 driver rankings - #19 - Antonio Giovinazzi | Giovinazzi determined to return as a stronger driver for 2020

The Italian ended the season 17th in the standings will return with Alfa Romeo in 2020, which Binotto says will offer more insight into the skills of the 2016 GP2 runner-up.

"Antonio may be one of the Ferrari drivers in the future, but we will first have to see how he performs next year," Binotto told Autosprint.

"Based on his performance this season, I have to be honest and say it wasn't good enough to be able to go to Ferrari. He first has to take a step for that."

'Time out of racing could have hurt Giovinazzi'

After finishing second in the GP2 championship in 2016, Giovinazzi didn't sign a full-time deal with any race time until Alfa Romeo in 2019.

He took part in two races with Sauber in the opening stages of the 2017 season, replacing Pascal Wehrlein, who was out injured. 

Binotto acknowledges that the large time Giovinazzi spent out of racing could have affected his performances, and admits that he is pleased with how he compared to Raikkonen later in the season.

"We are often very positive about Giovinazzi and that is partly due to his strong performance in 2019," Binotto said. "He has had an excellent season and has taken a big step.

"You have to remember that Antonio had not really raced for two seasons before he was allowed to join Alfa Romeo.

"From that position, it is not easy to enter Formula 1 and keep up with the competition. However, he managed to get closer to Raikkonen in the second half of the season and that is a great achievement."