F1: Schumacher and Giovinazzi promoted to Ferrari reserve role

(GMM) Mick Schumacher is still in the running for a future in red – even as early as 2022.

That is the admission of Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto, who announced that Michael Schumacher’s son will split his duties next year between his second race season with Haas and a reserve role for the fabled Italian team.

“Mick will be the reserve driver for Ferrari, just like Antonio Giovinazzi,” Binotto told RTL.

“Antonio will be the reserve driver in some races, and when he is not there it will be Mick.”

Binotto says Schumacher, 22, deserves his mini “promotion”.

“He’s always a Ferrari driver and he did well with Haas all through the 2021 season,” said the Italian.

“The 2022 cars will be significantly different compared to 2021 in terms of driving style, so he will be used to them.

“For us it is very important than whenever we need him, he will be prepared to drive a Ferrari,” Binotto added.

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Ferrari Press Release

There’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc of course, but others besides. The Scuderia has established the roles of other drivers that are part of next season’s line-up.

Reserve. Antonio Giovinazzi, who will be racing in Formula E next year with the Dragon Penske Autosport team, will continue working with the Scuderia as reserve driver, as he has done for the past two seasons when also driving for Alfa Romeo Racing.

The 28-year-old Italian will be on hand for 12 of next year’s 23 races and will stay in touch with Formula 1 through a busy simulator program so that he is fully au fait with the 2022 car. Antonio will attend Grands Prix with the team and will also be available to step in if any of Scuderia Ferrari’s customer teams require a replacement driver.

For the eleven F1 rounds which clash with Giovinazzi’s Formula E commitments, his place will be taken by Mick Schumacher, who continues to race for the Haas F1 Team in 2022. Mick is still part of the Ferrari Driver Academy and so next year he will be able to count on support from Ferrari’s young driver program, both at the track and in Maranello, where he will be able to use the Scuderia’s simulator.

Test driver. Robert Shwartzman will be the team’s test driver. This year, the Russian Ferrari Driver Academy member took two wins in Formula 2 and six further podiums and was fighting his teammate Oscar Piastri for the title right to the final round. In 2021, Robert already took part in three Formula 1 test sessions at the wheel of a Ferrari, most recently a few days ago in Abu Dhabi with the SF21. The Russian will be backing up the race drivers at the controls of the new simulator, which was completed last summer. He will therefore be working alongside two experts in this field, which is becoming ever more important in Formula 1 these days, the Italians Antonio Fuoco and Davide Rigon.