At the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix, much of the highlights and the headline material belonged to two exemplary young drivers toiling out there.
In a race that had little for Mercedes or for the usual Hamilton versus Vettel saga, two avid youngsters, possibly firestarters to what can be F1’s latest rivalry were in full combat mode.
We saw two 21-year-olds embroiled in a thrilling tug of war, writing their own victorious scripts at the 71-lap contest.
Leclerc, who bagged his third F1 podium after clinching pole on Saturday, emerged as the sentimental favorite while Verstappen, who grabbed his sixth career win, now holds the record of most wins at Spielberg than any other Red Bull driver.
Not even Webber, Vettel or Ricciardo have attained this distinct feat.
The thrilling end to an amazing race was heightened by a late climax.
One saw Verstappen, the eventual race-winner finally cutting loose, on Lap 70, with a little over a lap to go. Anything could’ve happened.
But this was not before Charles Leclerc had defended brilliantly, for nearly ten mightily-contested laps, with the Red Bull of Verstappen appearing ever so close in the mirrors of car number 16.
That being said, was there something else at Spielberg?
Did the 71-lap contest unfold a dramatic story for another youngster?
As the battle at the top spurred fans to the edge of their seats, the Ferrari going down valiantly in front of the marauding pace of the Red Bull, another youngster, albeit a midfielder was writing his own script.
Spare a thought for Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, who finished his race, right behind his teammate, Kimi Raikkonen.
Because in so doing, the young Italian driver managed to score a tenth.
This fighting P10 went on to yield 1 point for the inexperienced driver.
And therefore gave Antonio Giovinazzi, his first-ever F1 points. What a moment it might have been for the 25-year-old one?
In a season where his team’s faced quite a few troubles, after Kimi Raikkonen took off to a fine start at Melbourne’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix, following his strong P8, going on to score single-handedly so for the Swiss team, it was Antonio Giovinazzi’s chance to offer something meaningful.
But make no mistake.
It’s not that Antonio Giovinazzi hasn’t come close to scoring earlier
It must be said, that among the most under-stated narratives of this year is Antonio Giovinazzi outqualifying Kimi Raikkonen, clearly the more experienced among the two at the Hinwill-based outfit.
While speed and points-finish do belong to the laconic Iceman, it’s the recent qualifying results that warrant some attention and least of all, some regard for Antonio Giovinazzi.
At the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix, the avid youngster began from thirteenth on the grid. He would end up on exactly the same spot. While Kimi, who began a rather indifferent race from seventeenth, would end with a dissatisfactory fifteenth.
During the race, Giovinazzi fought hard with the Racing Points and Toro Rossos and would go down fighting. But he would not give up and come back stronger for the next race.
At the 2019 French Grand Prix, Giovinazzi began from tenth on the grid. At a track where he hadn’t ever raced before, Circuit Paul Ricard fetched the talented Italian his strongest qualifying result, thus far, an effort that would see him qualify ahead of Kimi Raikkonen again for the 53-lap run.
With another 12 races ahead, Antonio Giovinazzi has to go hard
A solitary point may neither be headline-cracking material or awe-inspiring from any strand of imagination for the others.
But for the Italian driving talent, it could well be the start to something precious, such as the beginning of a point scoring spree.
It can be said that this valuable boost- well, it’s a maiden point gathered in the fastest form of racing on earth, after all- will keep Giovinazzi in good stead. Forza, Antonio!