Scuderia Ferrari reserve driver Robert Shwartzman is set to drive for the Italian staff in the opening observe at this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, taking up Carlos Sainz’s automotive in the primary 60-minute session.
Since the beginning of the 2022 F1 season, every Formula 1 staff is obliged to run ‘young drivers’ in two observe periods in the course of the season which signifies that each race drivers of every staff are required to hand over their automobiles to a driver who has accomplished lower than three F1 races in his profession.
Ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, Ferrari have introduced that their reserve driver Shwartzman will take over Carlos Sainz’s automotive in the opening Zandvoort observe after having contested FP1 eventually yr’s United States and Abu Dhabi grands prix.
The Russo-Israeli driver joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in late 2017, days earlier than the ultimate spherical of the Formula Renault Eurocup in which he would find yourself ending third.
He received the Toyota Racing Series and got here third in FIA European Formula 3 in 2018, received the FIA F3 Championship in 2019, took 4 race wins as a Formula 2 rookie in 2020 and was runner-up in the collection two years in the past with one other two wins.
Commenting on why the Italian staff selected Zandvoort, Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur stated: “Because it was the selection of the motive force. I gave them the selection to do it, the place they need to do it. I do know that it’s not a straightforward state of affairs however Carlos… it’s not really easy to determine.
“Because for positive you may’t do it in Singapore, in Japan, in Las Vegas. Also, you will have some Sprint occasions in Austin, Qatar, additionally which you can’t do it. Then you will have the races with tyre allocation, a bit completely different, so it is usually tough to do it, which means on the finish of the day you don’t have so many choices.”
Ferrari is but to determine the place Shwartzman will drive the automotive for the second time this yr, however is is very attainable that he’ll step in for Charles Leclerc in the primary observe on the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Robert 🗣 “I am very excited to be driving the SF-23 after having worked on its development in the simulator.”@ShwartzmanRob can be again behind the wheel this weekend for FP1 💪#DutchGP 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/AdGHOfVBPa
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) August 23, 2023
Speaking in regards to the challenges that his FP1 outings current, Shwartzman added: “I’m very excited to be driving the SF-23 after having labored on its improvement in the simulator. Driving a Formula 1 automotive throughout a spherical of the World Championship is basically particular and one thing to be happy with, particularly with Scuderia Ferrari, the staff that has supported me all through my profession. Before the summer time break, I did a half day’s testing to get used to being in the cockpit as soon as once more, because it’s been fairly some time since I final drove a Formula 1 automotive.
“Even although it was in an SF21, which may be very completely different from this yr’s automotive and runs on 13 inch tyres, it was nonetheless very helpful preparation for this Free Practice in Zandvoort. It can be attention-grabbing for me to evaluate the SF-23 with final yr’s F1-75 which I drove twice, eventually yr’s United States and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix.
“From my aspect, I’ll do my finest to assist the staff as a lot as attainable by finishing the work plan which goals to get probably the most out of the automotive each in phrases of set-up work in addition to gathering information that may be helpful to the staff for the second a part of the season. In reality, the event programme happening behind the scenes in Maranello wants as a lot information as attainable to transfer ahead at an excellent sooner fee.
Zandvoort that’s set to host this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix is a brand new territory for Shwarzman as he solely drove on the tight and twisty circuit as soon as and even that had occurred earlier than the monitor was modified for Formula One’s return to the Dutch venue.
“Zandvoort is one of the most challenging tracks on the calendar and I’ve only once driven it for real, before the layout was modified, so it will seem very new to me. From driving it on the simulator, I can say it is very demanding, with steeply banked corners, different lines and it’s also very tough on the car which is pushed to the limit in many areas. Although it’s quite complex, it’s also a very interesting track to drive so I expect to be able to enjoy myself a lot this coming Friday,” Shwartzman concluded.
