Giovinazzi bets long locks against podium finish with Vasseur

Antonio Giovinazzi hopes Fred Vasseur will get into his hair this season, the Italian committing to letting his Alfa Romeo team boss cut off his locks if he grabs a podium finish this season.

The wager follows up on last year's pledge from Giovinazzi who received a trimming from Vasseur when he secured his first top-ten finish.

Italy's lockdown has kept the 26-year-old away from his local barber shop this year, encouraging the young charger to bind his chestnut brown hair into a ponytail that now awaits Vasseur's sharp scissors.

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"All the hairdressers were closed so it was perfect as I like long hair," explained Giovinazzi on the latest F1 Nation podcast.

"I say I will cut it if I do a podium this year! So it’s like a bet with Fred, I’m sure he is pushing to cut my hair, but I love long hair, so I say if I do podium it is good for me, good for the team, I will cut my hair!

"Last year I lost my hair at the Red Bull Ring as I got my first point – so I said this year [it only happens] if I do a podium!"

After a maiden season in which he learned the ropes of F1 and boosted his experience, Giovinazzi is expected to step up his performance.

And while a podium is perhaps asking much of the young Italian, performing closer to veteran teammate Kimi Raikkonen is an imperative, especially with Ferrari's talented group of hopefuls - including Callum Ilott, Marcus Armstrong, Giuliano Alesi and Robert Shwartzman - waiting in the wings.

But Giovinazzi is well aware of the pressure and expectations that lie ahead.

"I always said there [has been] pressure on my career every year, because I got where I got with my sacrifice, hard work, and this year will be the same as last year or two years ago," he said.

"If I] just do well I can continue on my way. I’ll just focus on my feeling or on my experience, work really hard, I have Kimi [Raikkonen] as a team-mate so I can still grow.

"Already last year I did a big step from the first part of the season to the second part.

"I need to just work again and try to grow up as a driver and do well and ensure I can stay in this world for a long period."

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