F1, FE, WEC: Robert Shwartzman talks after FP1 at Zandvoort

Robert Shwartzman is a multi-discipline driver. In addition to his activities in F1 as a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, the 24-year-old has participated in Formula E tests this year with the DS Penske team and is competing in the WEC with a Ferrari 499P from the AF Corse team.

At Zandvoort, he had the opportunity to take the wheel of Valtteri Bottas’ Sauber during the first free practice session and shared his impressions when he got out of his single-seater.

« These were extreme conditions with a lot of wind. It wasn’t an easy task, but I’m happy to have overcome this challenge. The performance was quite good, especially with the intermediate tires where we had a good stint, so yes, I am very happy to have been able to drive a Formula 1 car. It’s also very emotional. I want to thank the team for the opportunity, for their trust in allowing me to race here. »

Interviewed about a possible arrival on the F1 grid next year, Shwartzman prefers to first focus on his work with Ferrari and its customer team Sauber.

« For the moment, I don’t know, there are a lot of discussions. My job is to be fast, to achieve good results, and to help the team improve the car, that’s my main goal and that’s why I came here. I hope to be able to participate in a new testing session this season. It will depend on whether Ferrari and Sauber are happy with my work and if they want to give me other opportunities.

Interviewed about the differences between the three types of race cars he has driven this year, F1, FE and Hypercar, the Ferrari Driver Academy driver shared his feelings.

« The differences are very important. Formula 1 is the fastest, everyone knows that. Formula E is completely different, it also has a lot of power but has less downforce so it’s completely another challenge, which requires a very different driving style. As for the WEC, it’s a bit in between the two but it’s a more durable car, for long stints. It’s not as fast as an F1 but it’s very resilient. Overall they are all different and very fun to drive and my goal is to be fast in each of them.

As for his goals for the last three races of the WEC season, Shwartzman doesn’t beat around the bush.

My goal is always to deliver the best work possible, to try to maximize the results for the last three races. We had a difficult season. In terms of pure speed, we are among the best but during the race, there is always something that is not going in the right direction, especially at Le Mans where we really had the car to win. But that’s racing, we just have to get out of this bad luck and hope that in Austin we will get a good result.

The next WEC race will take place in Texas on the weekend of September 1st before the 6 Hours of Fuji fifteen days later on November 2nd.