There will be no shortage of news when Formula 1 resumes track activities on the circuit Zandvoortseat of the Dutch Grand Prix. The Sauberwith a post recently published on its official social pages, has in fact announced the presence of Robert Shwartzman at the wheel of the C44 on the occasion of the first free practice session on Friday. In this way, the 24-year-old Russian-Israeli will replace Valtteri Bottas, who will regularly return to the track from FP2 onwards.
Reserve driver and test driver for Ferrari since 2022, Shwartzman had taken part in four other PL1s (session reserved for young drivers) between 2022 and last season, all at the wheel of the Reds. In Zandvoort, however, he will gain experience for the first time in Sauber, which announced his promotion as follows: “Robert Shwartzman will take part in FP1 for the Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber at this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix – it reads – Scuderia Ferrari’s reserve driver in this year’s Formula 1 season, will take over from Valtteri Bottas for the session, with the Finn taking over the driving duties for the remainder of the weekend. As on other occasions, we work in partnership with Scuderia Ferrari to give young talent an opportunity in the test sessions. Good luck, Robert!”
A wish of good luck also came from Ferrari, which welcomed him into its Academy in 2018 together with Mick Schumacher. Formula 3 champion the following year and Formula 2 runner-up in 2022, Shwartzman was promoted by the Maranello-based manufacturer in 2022 as a test driver, in addition to participating in the GT World Challenge Europe world championship with Ferrari in 2023, where he took a victory in the 3 Hours of Catalunya together with Alessio Rovera and Nicklas Nielsen. In addition to continuing his commitment with Ferrari in Formula 1, Shwartzman is also team-mate of Robert Kubica and Yi Yifei in this season’s World Endurance championship with the 499P of the AF Corse team.
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