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Former F1 driver Antonio Giovinazzi recently won the 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours race of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with the Ferrari AF Corse Hypercar team.
His racing career started quite early, as he progressed through different series, competed in Formula 1, and eventually won the biggest endurance race in the world.
Antonio Giovinazzi started karting in 2000 and won a few karting championships in 2006. Later on, he began his single-seater career in 2012, racing in Formula Pilota China, and moved forward to Formula 3.
He also raced in the DTM and Asian Le Mans Series in 2015 and 2016, before joining Prema Powerteam in the GP2 series alongside current F1 driver Pierre Gasly.
After finishing second in GP2, Giovinazzi was announced as a reserve driver for the Sauber F1 team and drove his first race in the 2017 F1 Australian GP, replacing Pascal Wehrlein. He once again replaced Wehrlein for the Chinese GP, where he crashed out.
Finally, Antonio Giovinazzi got a permanent seat in F1 from Alfa Romeo. He raced alongside Kimi Raikkonen from 2019 to 2021. While Raikkonen retired from the sport, Giovinazzi left the team and acted as a reserve driver for Ferrari while racing in Formula E with the Dragon Penske Autosport team for the 2021–22 season.
After a year, he left the sport to join the Ferrari AF Corse Hypercar team for the 2023 WEC season. He competed in all the WEC races, gradually moving up the grid, and finally winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
During his F1 career, many fans nicknamed Antonio Giovinazzi as 'Italian Jesus'. This was a humorous yet wholesome name given to him since he was Italian and he had long hair during his stint in Alfa Romeo.
His overall appearance somewhat looked like Jesus Christ; hence, he was given this nickname by the fans.
Antonio Giovinazzi on his last podium finish and what it took to win 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023
After winning the most important race of his entire career, Antonio Giovinazzi expressed his emotions and explained how much he sacrificed throughout his life to constantly push and eventually win.
He recalled how his last podium finish was in 2016 when he was still in the GP2 series.
"I haven't been on the podium since Spa 2016, in the then GP2. I haven't won a race since 2016. So to get back on the podium, especially here at Le Mans, was great. I must confess I cried because in my life I have made so many sacrifices. After so many years full of disappointments, but in the end, I always believed in my talent," he told the media.
"What Ferrari has done here today... Last year in July we had this car on the track for the first time, now we have won Le Mans, so as a team, we should be proud," he added.
Antonio Giovinazzi, along with James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi continue to race against Toyota Gazoo Racing to retain the overall lead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
