Giovinazzi may beat Raikkonen in 2019 - Minardi

F1 veteran Kimi Raikkonen will need to race hard to beat his young rookie teammate in 2019.

That is the view of Gian Carlo Minardi, a former F1 team owner and boss.

Minardi, 71, hailed fellow Italian Antonio Giovinazzi, ahead of the 25-year-old’s first full season in F1.

"It is a very important signal for the whole of Italian motor sport, for young drivers, and also for the future of the Italian grand prix," he told minardi.it.

Minardi tipped Giovinazzi, who like Charles Leclerc is a product of Ferrari’s development ’academy’, to give 2007 world champion Raikkonen a run for his money at Sauber in 2019.

"The Finn will have to look over his shoulder carefully because I am sure he (Giovinazzi) will be able to put him in trouble," he said.