Giovinazzi finding F1 adjustment "not easy" after poor start

Antonio Giovinazzi has admitted the "not easy" adjustment to life as a Formula 1 driver after two years of being largely out of the competition.

Giovinazzi signed for the newly-named Alfa Romeo Racing - where he is driving alongside the much more experienced driver in Kimi Raikkonen this season.

The Italian, who is a former Ferrari simulation driver, is yet to score a single point for Alfa; but his team-mate Raikkonen has been in the top 10 in every single race so far this season.

He says it has been "not easy" to get to grips with driving in competitive sessions again and he is struggling to not "lose a little bit (on) the push-lap in qualifying".

"It's just so many things that you can study and try to learn," Giovinazzi said to RaceFans. "It's not only the (flying) lap, you need to learn the warm-up, the out-lap, brakes, managing the traffic.

"It's quite complicated, so I need just time to learn these kinds of things. It's not really easy to come after two years without racing. These are the things you need to improve and this is what I'm doing."

As before mentioned, Raikkonen is the most experienced driver on the F1 grid as it stands, and Giovinazzi has confirmed he's been paying close attention to his new team-mate - in order to gain some ideas of how to improve.

"I think to also have Kimi as a team-mate is a good reference," the Italian continued. "When I stop in the garage, watch his data and try to see what I can improve.

"(I'll) just keep working like that and I think all the things will come together and then it will be just a lot more easy to have a good result."