After the polemics caused by the fact that Ferrari could not use the SF21 car, the Maranello team finally started its private testing session at the Fiorano circuit this afternoon. At the wheel of the SF71H, Ferrari Driver Academy member Robert Shwartzman was the first to take to the track for a testing session which has the main puropose of for the mechanics and drivers to get reacquainted with the operational procedures, ahead of a busy 2022 Formula 1 season.
The young Russian driver, who finished second in last year’s Formula 2 championship, but will not continue in the series this season, completed 44 laps, for a total of 131 kilometers (click here for a full photo gallery with Robert Shwartzman on track).
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Scuderia Ferrari’s initial plans were for this event to begin on Tuesday with the SF21, the car used by the Italian side in the 2021 Formula 1 season. Yet the Maranello team had to change plans due to the fact that one team requested further clarifications on whether Ferrari would be allowed to use last year’s car for such a test. The rules from 2021 stated that a team could not perform private tests with Formula 1 cars from the last two seasons, but the introduction of the new generation of cars would have meant that last year’s cars could also be used. An agreement that has obviously not yet been officially stated by the FIA in the new sporting regulations, given that Ferrari – to avoid any trouble – has chosen to use the SF71H to the track. Tomorrow the two main drivers will hit the track: Carlos Sainz in the morning, with teammate Charles Leclerc in the afternoon at Fiorano.
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