Ferrari confirm two drivers to share Formula 1 reserve driver role in 2023
Ferrari have confirmed Antonio Giovinazzi and Robert Shwartzman will both be reserve drivers for the team in 2023.
Former Alfa Romeo driver Giovinazzi spent three seasons in Formula 1 before dropping to a reserve role with Ferrari for 2022, with he and the retiring Kimi Raikkonen making way for Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas to join the team.
The Italian will be joined as a Ferrari reserve by 2021 Formula 2 runner-up Shwartzman, who is no longer part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, but has instead received a promotion to reserve duties by the team.
The 23-year-old took part in two FP1 sessions for the Scuderia last year, as well as post-season testing in Abu Dhabi, though he did not have a full-time seat in another series.
This will not be the case for either driver in 2023, with Giovinazzi moving across to Ferrari’s fledgling Hypercar programme in the World Endurance Championship after a tricky season in Formula E, while Shwartzman will take part in the GT World Challenge, and the two drivers will rotate the reserve role at Formula 1 weekends, meaning the Scuderia will always have at least one reserve available to them during the season.
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“Honoured to step up as Scuderia Ferrari F1 Reserve Driver and continue my journey with the Ferrari family,” Shwartzman wrote on social media.
“I look forward to working hard, getting back behind the wheel of the F1 car and racing in the GT World Challenge with Ferrari Competizioni GT!”
Giovinazzi and Shwartzman have taken on the mantle of official reserve drivers, and the team also confirmed Antonio Fuoco and Davide Rigon will be development drivers for Ferrari this season, with the team saying they have “proved their worth in terms of providing the engineers with precise and reliable feedback” while driving their simulator.
Race drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have already driven previous years’ cars this January at the team’s private test track at Fiorano, as their preparations for the new Formula 1 season get underway.
