Robert Shwartzman will provide an important comparison test for Ferrari when he takes over from Carlos Sainz during FP1 for the Dutch Grand Prix. Ferrari will run Shwartzman - who is their official reserve driver - as part of the rookie driver rules in practice for the race weekend. This rule states that teams must run a driver who has completed few than two Grands Prix, at a minimum of two race weekends per-season. Shwartzman was born in Isreal and competes with an Isreal licence, despite previously doing so under a Russia licence. He take to the wheel of the SF-23 for the first time having done previous tests at Maranello in their 2021 car this year. "I am very excited to be driving the SF-23 after having worked on its development in the simulator," said Shwartzman. "Before the summer break, I did a half day’s testing to get used to being in the cockpit once again, as it’s been quite a while since I last drove a Formula 1 car. "Even though it was in an SF21, which is very different from this year’s car and runs on 13 inch tyres, it was still very useful preparation for this Free Practice in Zandvoort."
Shwartzman's first time at Zandvoort since track changes
The last time Shwartzman drove Zandvoort was in the 2018 European Formula 3 championship, which did not use the current modified layout that features the bankings. "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," said Shwartzman. The decision to run him at the track was made by Sainz, after Team Principal Frederic Vasseur left it up to the drivers to decide when to forfeit the time. Ferrari also ran Shwartzman last year as part of the rookie driver rules, which will provide the team with an important comparison test. He added: "It will be interesting for me to compare the SF-23 with last year’s F1-75 which I drove twice, at last year’s United States and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix."
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