Official: Ferrari juniors Schumacher, Shwartzman and Ilott to make F1 practice debuts. All three drivers will test a Ferrari SF71H.

Three Ferrari Driver Academy members will make their debuts in Formula 1 practice sessions this year.

The FDA has confirmed Mick Schumacher, Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman will all drive for Ferrari customer teams in one practice session over the coming races. The trio are currently first, second and fifth respectively in the Formula 2 standings.
Schumacher will drive Antonio Giovinazzi’s Alfa Romeo in next Friday’s practice session for the Eifel Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.

Ilott will also make his F1 debut in the same session, driving a Haas. The American team has not yet confirmed which of their regular drivers will sit out the session.

Shwartzman will have to wait until the season final at Abu Dhabi for his first outing.

All three drivers will test a Ferrari SF71H, as raced by the team in 2018, at Fiorano tomorrow.
“We wanted to organise this test session so that our three best youngsters would be as well prepared as possible to tackle an event that will always be a special moment for them,” said FDA director and Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies.

“It will be a chance to get to grips with a Formula 1 car, which is much more complicated than the car they are currently used to driving.

“I would like to thank Haas and Alfa Romeo Racing for offering Callum, Mick and Robert this opportunity. We believe strongly in our Academy, which has already proved its value, with Charles Leclerc, a driver on which the Scuderia can build its long term future.

“Callum, Mick and Robert have already proved their worth in the current Formula 2 season and this test is a further step in their education.”

Mick Schumacher will have his first official F1 outing at a circuit his father won at five times during his F1 career.

“The fact that my first participation in a Formula 1 weekend will take place in front of my home audience at the Nürburgring makes this moment even more special,” he said. “I would like to thank Alfa Romeo and the Ferrari Driver Academy for giving me the opportunity to get another taste of Formula 1 air one and a half years after our common test drive in Bahrain.

“For the next 10 days I’m going to prepare myself well, so that I can do the best possible job for the team and gain some valuable data for the weekend.”

Ilott said it was a “real privilege” to have his first run in an official F1 practice session.

“It’s amazing to have this chance at a track that is one of my favourites – it was where I scored the first podium of my career back in 2015. The Nürburgring means a lot to me and is a track with a real heritage, so it’s great that I’ll have my first outing at a Formula 1 race weekend there.”