Ferrari academy and test driver Robert Shwartzman will take part in two Friday practice sessions during the 2022 season.
The 22-year-old Russian driver has been a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy since 2017 and raced in Formula 2 until last year.New sporting regulations for the 2022 season demand that all teams field a driver with minimal grand prix racing experience during a Friday practice session at least twice during the year. Ferrari have never put a junior driver in one of their cars since the rules permitted teams to do so prior to the new regulations.
Shwartzman is yet to confirm his racing programme for 2022 after two years with Prema in F2. He secured fourth in the standings in his debut season of 2021 and finished runner-up to F2 champion and team mate Oscar Piastri in last year’s championship, taking two race victories and eight podium finishes.
He has tested for Ferrari on multiple occasions. He drove a Ferrari Formula 1 car in 2020 in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi, covering over two race distances in one day. He also drove for the team in the test immediately following last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December, running the first day in the Ferrari and then the second with Haas.
Shwartzman has previously completed two days of private running with Ferrari earlier this month at the team’s Fiorano test track.
Mick Schumacher and Antonio Giovinazzi have been nominated as Ferrari’s reserve drivers for the new season.
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