15/07/2022
NEWS STORY
Robert Shwartzman was on at Mugello yesterday, driving last season's SF21.
It's the second time this year that the Maranello outfit's test driver has got behind the wheel of an F1 car, having driven a 2018 SF71H at Fiorano in January.
Overall, it was the eighth test session of his career, as part of the plan tailor-made for him to get as much experience as possible in the cockpit of an F1 car.
Shwartzman, who also has Israeli nationality by virtue of being born near Tel Aviv, wore the colours of that country for the first time.
He took to the track shortly after 09:00 carrying out some set-up work and then continued with the day's programme, which included running various fuel levels, simulating both qualifying and race runs.
As a result he was able to assess on track the same conditions he regularly works with on the simulator.
Over the course of the day, at the Ferrari-owned circuit in Tuscany, he completed 130 laps, a distance of 681 kilometres.
Today was very useful for Shwartzman as he is due to drive in at least two free practice sessions this season, as per the regulations.
It was also valuable training for other personnel as the crew working at Maranello today was made up of a mix of very experienced mechanics and engineers, working alongside youngsters training in Maranello, with currently only limited trackside experience.