Shwartzman: ‘Special award’ to be part of Ferrari
Formula 2 and Ferrari Academy driver Robert Shwartzman has called it a “special award” to represent the team.
With the backing of the Scuderia Shwartzman is currently battling it out for the 2020 F2 Championship, with fellow Ferrari juniors and Callum Ilott and Mick Schumacher joining him in that battle.
And with six races to go Shwartzman is P4 in the standings, 21 points behind Schumacher at the top.
But it’s no surprise to hear that with the support of the iconic Ferrari brand comes a lot of pressure for a young driver.
Asked by Auto Bild if he feels extra pressure from driving under the Ferrari banner, Shwartzman replied: “Of course, it is special to wear the red shirt with the jumping horse on the chest.
“From the first conversation with the Ferrari Drivers Academy to the point where it was clear that we were going to work together, it was really a big deal for me. You become part of the Ferrari family, which is a special award.”
Shwartzman has three race wins to his name this year in Formula 2 and has also made a further two visits to the podium.
There to celebrate with him has been Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto, something Shwartzman is “very pleased” about.
“I have always been very pleased about this,” he said.
“It’s a great feeling to see Mattia and Laurent (Mekies, sporting director of Ferrari/ the red.) standing there. We clapped our fists, I’ve always done that with my father before. Now I’m doing this with everyone in our team.
“I prefer the Fist Bumps, I’m not a guy for this thing with the elbows (laughs).”
Miss you ❤️ pic.twitter.com/9P5tXQCdHH
— Robert Shwartzman (@ShwartzmanRob) May 1, 2020
Get your hands on the official Ferrari 2020 collection via the Formula 1 store
Shwartzman’s father sadly passed away in April due to COVID-19, but the Russian driver always races with a key phrase from his father in-mind.
“I don’t really like to mention individual points where I’m particularly good and where I’m particularly bad. I want to get better everywhere,” he explained.
“My father described it well. He always said there are three types of people in the world. The best learn from the mistakes of others, the good from their own mistakes and the bad from neither one nor the other. I want to be the first guy.”
Shwartzman will next be in action at his home race, the Russian Grand Prix, as Formula 2 hosts a Feature Race and Sprint Race around Sochi Autodrom.
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