Ferrari junior drivers to take part in the Young Driver Test
Ferrari has confirmed that three members of its Driver Academy will receive the chance of taking part in the Abu Dhabi Young Driver Test on Tuesday 15 December.
Robert Shwartzman and Antonio Fuoco will drive for Ferrari at the Young Driver Test. Both were at the Scuderia factory today for a seat fitting in the SF1000, which they will drive two days after the final Grand Prix of the season.
The post-season test will be Shwartzman’s first appearance at an official F1 test, following on from his debut in a Formula 1 car at Fiorano as part of the #RoadToF1 programme run by the Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA).
After winning the championship title in FIA Formula 3 in 2019, the young Russian competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship this year. He has won three races in F2 so far, taking his maiden victory in the Feature Race of the second round at Spielberg, followed by wins in Hungary and the Spa-Francorchamps Sprint Race. He currently occupies the fifth position in Formula One’s main feeder series.
Commenting on the announcement, Robert Shwartzman said: „It’s exciting to know that I will be driving the SF1000 in Abu Dhabi immediately after the end of the Formula 1 season. I was able to try the SF71H at Fiorano at the end of September and it was incredible, even though that car is almost three years old now.
„I can’t wait to jump into the 2020 car and get out on track alongside so many of the drivers I’ve been racing against in Formula 2. I plan to enjoy every single minute of this great experience.”
Antonio Fuoco currently serves as a development driver for the Scuderia Ferrari Formula One team and is a junior driver for the Competizione GT. The Italian was previously a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy and he now supports the young FDA drivers. The Abu Dhabi test will be his fourth with the team, having already driven in 2015 at Spielberg as well as in 2016 and 2019 at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit.
„I’m very happy to get back behind the wheel of a real car, having done so many virtual laps in the SF1000 in the simulator. It’s very useful for someone in my position, to be able from time to time to get into a car and check the correlation between the tools I usually use and how the car actually behaves on track.
„On top of that, it’s an honour to put on the red race suit and drive a Ferrari on track, a feeling that is always hard to put into words,” said Fuoco.
Callum Ilott will also be taking part in the Abu Dhabi Young Driver Test, driving one of the two Alfa Romeo Racing C39 cars. The British driver is currently lying second in the Formula 2 championship, with three wins, four pole positions and two additional podium placings. This will be a second Formula 1 outing for the 22-year-old from Cambridge, after he completed 41 laps or 191 kilometres of the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit last year.
„I am really looking forward to being in the car again in Abu Dhabi and I am grateful to Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN and the Ferrari Driver Academy for this opportunity.
"Any chance to drive a Formula One car is important: it’s a way to grow my experience, not just in the cockpit, but also working with the team: the engineers and crew are among the best in the world and there is so much to learn from them, so I am going to make it count,” said Ilott.
