Robert Shwartzman has undergone a fully immersive Formula 1 experience at the end-of-season test in Abu Dhabi, completing 130 laps today at the wheel of the Haas VF-21 car, as driven this year by his FDA colleague Mick Schumacher. Yesterday, the Russian Ferrari Driver Academy student drove 73 laps in the SF21, the car Scuderia Ferrari raced in the season just ended.
Impressions. At the end of the session, Robert had this to say about his two days of testing: “We have now ended our 2021 Season. This one and a half days of testing have been really great. It was a pleasure to be with Scuderia Ferrari yesterday and enjoyed every minute of driving that car. Today I drove with Haas F1, new team for me, new car, new environment, new people with a full day of running. We did a good job, tested a lot of different things and ultimately were also pretty quick ending the day on top. Our race runs were very good and consistent, and I also tried pit stops for the first time in F1 which went very well. Overall, I’m very happy, I enjoyed driving the car and had a lot of fun. We did 130 laps today and 73 yesterday so overall more than 200 laps which is very good and a great experience. It’s now time to have a break and hopefully I’ll get more opportunities to drive an F1 car next year, to continue learning. A big thank you to Scuderia Ferrari and Haas F1 Team for giving me the opportunity to drive and also to SMP Racing and FDA for their support.”
Break. For Shwartzman and for all the Formula 1 drivers, it’s time to head home for the winter break. Ferrari’s plans for the Russian, who was runner-up in this year’s Formula 2 championship, with two wins in Baku and Silverstone, will be announced shortly.