Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says that he doesn't believe Ferrari will allow its rising young star Antonio Giovinazzi to stagnate in 2017, despite the Italian driver failing to find a spot on this year's Formula One grid.
Giovinazzi was runner-up in the 2015 FIA European Formula 3 Championship, and narrowly lost out to Pierre Gasly in last year's GP2 drivers title battle despite picking up five wins and a further three podium finishes over the course of the season.
Ferrari has signed him up as a F1 reserve driver for the forthcoming season, but the 23-year-old is not guaranteed any track time at Grand Prix weekends. However, Wolff does not believe that the Scuderia is about to squander the youngster's evident talent.
"I'm sure Ferrari will find the best option for him," he told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Wolff added that he didn't believe Giovinazzi will fall off the radar without being able to prove himself in a championship battle in 2017, compared with Gasly who is set to follow in Stoffel Vandoorne's footsteps and take part in this year's Japanese Super Formula series.
"No, a great example is Valtteri Bottas," Wolff said, adding: "He was third driver for a year with Williams before he became their race driver."
Mercedes itself has been having to juggle new talent in the form of Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon, both of whom now have full time race seats confirmed for 2017. However, Wolff pointed out that Giovinazzi's situation was not the same.
"Giovinazzi has not driven a formula one car, so you can't compare him with Wehrlein and Ocon," he said. "Pascal won the title in DTM and then spent a season in formula one, while Esteban won the titles in GP3 and Formula 3."
GALLERY: F1 drivers' wives and girlfriends
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
