Robert Shwartzman: “Today’s practice was good and I’m happy with the progress that I made”

Robert Shwartzman was happy with his performance during his second free practice session outing of the season with Scuderia Ferrari in Abu Dhabi, with the Russian driver ending seventh fastest overall.

Shwartzman, who is competing under an Israeli licence due to the competitive ban on Russian athletes, took to the track at the Yas Marina Circuit on Friday in place of regular driver Carlos Sainz Jr., and was able to complete a full testing programme without any issues.

After taking part in his first session last month ahead of the United States Grand Prix, he was just over half a second down on Charles Leclerc on Friday afternoon, completing twenty-four laps as he continued to adapt to the 2022 machinery.

After the session, Shwartzman was thankful to Ferrari for the latest opportunity to drive the F1-75, and he will get another opportunity next week when he participates in the post-season young driver test at the same track.

“Today’s practice was good and I’m happy with the progress that I made,” said Shwartzman.  “Ending the session in P7 felt good, I felt comfortable in the car and we ran through the planned programme without any issues.

“We started the practice with some development testing and the team was satisfied with the data we collected. 

“I look forward to being back in the car on Tuesday for a full day of testing, where my target is to make further improvements and gain more valuable experience in this generation of car. Thank you to Scuderia Ferrari for this great opportunity.”