Shwartzman to represent Ferrari in Abu Dhabi test

Henry Valantine
Ferrari junior Robert Shwartzman at a Formula 2 test. Spain, April 2021.

Ferrari junior Robert Shwartzman, arms folded, in the garage for a Formula 2 test. Spain, April 2021.

Ferrari have announced junior driver Robert Shwartzman will go behind the wheel of the SF71 at the post-season young driver test in Abu Dhabi.

Shwartzman is currently running second in the Formula 2 championship standings, having won the Formula 3 title back in 2019.

The 22-year-old Russian has already had a taste of running in Ferrari Formula 1 cars before, having taken past in last season’s young driver test in the team’s 2020 challenger.

He’s also had runs in Ferrari’s 2018 car twice this season, at Fiorano and Imola respectively. But he’ll now have the opportunity to not only drive this season’s Ferrari, he’ll also be doing a day of running for Haas after the season finishes.

“I am extremely happy to do another test with Scuderia Ferrari,” Shwartzman said upon the announcement.

“It’s an honour to be able to drive this F1 car but also a big responsibility and I am therefore extremely grateful for the trust Ferrari has put in me. I will certainly try to enjoy it as much as possible while aiming to do a good job of acquiring data for the team.”

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner spoke about Shwartzman’s run in his team’s car, which had already been arranged earlier in the season.

The Prema driver has won six races as a Formula 2 driver across his two seasons in the category so far, and Steiner said he will be able to give a good account of himself behind the wheel of VF-21.

“We’re looking forward to testing with Robert at Yas Marina in December,” said Steiner. “He’s obviously highly rated by Ferrari – having been part of their driver program since the end of 2017.

 

“His ability is clearly in evidence when you look at his performances over the last few seasons – most notably his rookie campaign in Formula 2 last year – competing against the likes of our own two drivers Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.

“We are pleased to be able to give Robert an outing in a Formula 1 car and we look forward to working with him in Abu Dhabi.”

 

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