Guenther Steiner says Robert Shwartzman had no pressure during the Abu Dhabi test with Haas, adding the reserve situation.
Haas confirmed back in November that Ferrari junior Shwartzman would compete in the VF-21 at the Abu Dhabi post-season Young Driver Test, which also featured Oscar Piastri, Liam Lawson, Juri Vips and Patricio O’Ward.
Shwartzman spent a full day in the car and was the only driver in a 2021 car with 13-inch tires that day, having driven the Ferrari car the day before. The 2019 F3 champion secured two race wins in 2021, ending the Formula 2 season in third place in the drivers’ championship and rounding off a successful season for the Russian.
Just a year earlier, Haas announced the arrival of its brand new rookie line-up, consisting of F2 grads Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. The German is also Shwartzman’s teammate at the Ferrari Driver Academy.
Haas is therefore something like cultivating rookie talents and throwing them in at the deep end in an F1 car. Prior to 2021, however, the team had never assigned a full-time seat to a rookie in its short history in the sport – only Romain Grosjean, Esteban Gutierrez and Kevin Magnussen as full-time drivers.
Haas team principal Steiner assures Shwartzman didn’t have any weight on his shoulders during the test, instead he was there to enjoy the experience. “It was just a test because it was a test for young riders,” he said. “We’ve always talked about young drivers not having the opportunity to test, so with Ferrari we’re just giving it a chance.
“There wasn’t really much of an expectation. I think my expectation was that he could run one day, we didn’t have any mechanical issues, he didn’t retire or anything and… I think [it was more for] this guy to enjoy it,” Steiner summed up.
For 2022, F1 is introducing a mandatory young driver rule for FP1 sessions, meaning teams must find young drivers (defined as those who have had fewer than two Formula 1 starts) to attend a set number of practice sessions to participate.
The odds that Shwartzman could line up for Haas seem logical and carry tangible weight, but Steiner didn’t say much about them. His potential commitments at Ferrari could prevent that from becoming a reality, but exact details on that have yet to be worked out.
When asked by FormulaRapida.net if Haas was looking for junior drivers for FP1 sessions in 2022, Steiner kept a low profile on the matter. He also noted that as of now there will be no other reserve driver besides Pietro Fittipaldi.
There has been some discussion of an experienced reserve to help the rookies at Haas, but it probably isn’t right now. According to the Ferrari publication, their reserve Antonio Giovinazzi – for 12 races – will also be available for Haas and Alfa Romeo.
“At the moment we have no plans to provide another reserve driver, I don’t know yet what Pietro will drive in 2022 if he drives at all, so I don’t know,” said Steiner. “Then we’ll have to wait and see if it’s someone [else is needed] For FP1, which is mandatory, we want that path to be underlined to see what we’re doing.”
The story was written by Danny Herbert
Here is Nikita Mazepin on the qualification discussion
Here is Günther Steiner about his own learning
Here is Guenther Steiner in the Dimtry Mazepin bonus offer
Here is Mick Schumacher on his learning
Here’s Haas on passing the crash test
Here’s Haas on taking an experienced reserve
