Ferrari test: Antonio Giovinazzi returns on track with F1-75 car at Fiorano circuit. Antonio Giovinazzi returned to the wheel of a F1 car during a private test day organized by Ferrari.

Antonio Giovinazzi returned to the wheel of a Formula 1 car during a private test day organized by Ferrari. The Italian driver inherited the wheel from Oliver Bearman and got into the cockpit of the F1-75, in order to accumulate kilometers with a car from the current regulatory cycle.

Engines at Ferrari are far from silent. Even though it’s not a race weekend, the Maranello team is very active behind the scenes, both in preparing for the upcoming Grand Prix in Australia and in giving their reserve drivers the opportunity to consistently run on the track.

After the private tests completed in Barcelona last February, the Prancing Horse team decided to continue its testing program with reserve drivers at Fiorano as well. Yesterday was Oliver Bearman’s turn, who, after his splendid Formula 1 debut in Saudi Arabia, returned to the wheel of the Ferrari F1-75, the 2022 car and the first car of the current technical cycle of ground-effect cars.

While the Englishman was on track, inside the Sports Management of Maranello, Antonio Giovinazzi sat in the simulator to prepare for the upcoming events. Today, on the other hand, the driver from Martina Franca got into the cockpit of the F1-75 with demo tires, in order to maintain contact with the track on a car from the premier open-wheel series.

A training session that, although it’s on a car at least two seasons old as required by the regulations, is held on a car that features technical concepts of the current regulatory cycle and, therefore, is the closest tool to the SF-24, excluding obviously the work on the simulator. An opportunity not only to accumulate kilometers but also to find a point of contact with the experience in virtual reality.

For the Italian driver, this is the first seasonal outing behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car. The last time Antonio Giovinazzi drove a car from the premier series was last August when he took to the track again at Fiorano but in the Ferrari SF-21, sharing the work with Robert Shwartzman, the other reserve of the Prancing Horse. It is indeed worth keeping in mind that, in case of unavailability of one of the two official drivers, it will be one of the reserves who will step into the cockpit, as happened in Saudi Arabia.

Just like for Oliver Bearman, this test for the driver from Martina Franca was scheduled several weeks ago, also taking advantage of the month-long break between the first round of the WEC championship and the second round, which will take place at Imola around mid-April.

Day 02 of our previous car test, and it’s @Anto_Giovinazzi's turn behind the wheel! 👊 pic.twitter.com/IPSd9Mkx7l

— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) March 14, 2024