Long-time member of the Ferrari Driver Academy (which he joined five years ago) Robert Shwartzman went through a long and demanding learning process, winning the Formula Toyota championship in 2018 and the Formula 3 championship in 2019.
The Ferrari junior then took part in two Formula 2 championships (finishing fourth in his rookie year and second, behind Oscar Piastri, last season). For the current season he was given the opportunity to become third driver for Scuderia Ferrari, with the important responsibility of working on the simulator to help the team prepare for the race weekends. At the same time, during 2022, the Russian with an Israeli passport had the chance to drive the F1-75 in the first free practice session for the United States Grand Prix at COTA in Austin. However, the goal of making his Grand Prix debut immediately seemed almost impossible.
“What will happen [in the future] I do not know yet but it is very difficult and demanding to enter Formula 1”, said the 23-year-old, who despite his hard work has not deluded himself on the possibility of finding a place on the grid for next year – “I have always pushed and worked very hard, no matter what happened around me, with the dream or the goal of arriving in Formula 1” – continued the Russian in a long interview for MotorsportWeek – “Wondering if there would be any openings or opportunities for me, even if at this point I can assume that there will be no possibility” – the Russo-Israeli racing driver admitted.
The Ferrari Driver Academy member added: “This is obviously very sad for me, because by commitment was big and I continued to concentrate and believe in it, but in the end a chance in Formula 1 did not materialize for various reasons” – he pointed out.
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In this regard, the driver with an Israeli passport also expressed a certain self-criticism towards him, reiterating that “the aspect in which I could have improved was taking some better results in the seasons in which I participated in Formula 2 and this probably would have given me a greater perspective to enter Formula 1”. – Robert Shwartzman continued.
However, without being overly upset, the young Ferrari driver wanted to point out the importance of the work done so far, focusing himself towards the future. “There are positive aspects to take into consideration, starting with the fact that I have matured more, I have learned more, I know how to manage myself and work better with engineers. In any case, for my career, no matter where I will be, it was still an important phase in my life.” – Robert Shwartzman concluded, when asked about his role as development driver for the Scuderia Ferrari Formula One team.
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