“He is a fantastic driver,” Mattia Binotto wants to see Ferrari’s starlet Robert Shwartzman in F1
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Mattia Binotto has made it known that he wants to see Ferrari’s development driver, Robert Shwartzman racing with the very best in F1 very soon.
The urge to see another of the Maranello-based team’s drivers in F1 has stemmed from the fact that none of the drivers that are doing their trade in Formula 2, at the moment, are associated with Scuderia.
Robert Shwartzman at the end of 2020 missed out on an F1 seat, and Binotto who has followed the career of the young driver closely feels that the 23-year-old has got everything in him to do great things in the sport.
Moreover, Robert Shwartzman, after sitting out a season has hoped of getting a chance in F1 but as things stand, it is very unlikely that he would be able to get an F1 birth for the 2023 season.
Currently, Haas, Williams, and, Alfa Romeo are weighing their driver options for next season but at none of the teams Shwartman’s name has come up as a person of interest.
With chances of getting a seat in the pinnacle of motor racing looking extremely slim, the Israeli driver can find some solace in the fact that he is going to get his chance to drive the 2022 F1 car during the FP1 session of this year’s American Grand Prix.
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Mattia Binotto’s take on Robert Shwartzman’s credential as an F1 driver
Mattia Binotto has got two prolific drivers in the form of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in Ferrari’s books for next season, but despite this fact, the Italian has said that he wants to see Robert Shwartzman in F1, be that with any team on the grid.
While talking about Shwartzman, Binotto said, “Robert [Shwartzman], I think, is a fantastic driver. I think he’s very fast, especially in an F1 [car].“
“Whenever he drove an F1 car, he has been very fast with F1 itself. There are drivers that are maybe great in F3, F2 and then not good enough in F1.”
“I think Robert is one of the opposites. He has been great certainty in F3, [and] F2, but he’s very, very strong in F1.“
“And so it’s a shame for him not having any seat at the moment. This season he has worked a lot in the simulator. He has worked a lot, helping our team in developing the car.“
“I think as a driver he has improved, he has developed his own skills, and today he’s a lot more mature… I think he’s a driver that would deserve a seat.“
“We know it’s very difficult right now in this situation, but hopefully, in the future, that may happen.”
The Ferrari Team Principal ardently believes that during the past year, Shwartzman has learned a lot that there is to learn about F1 and at the same time, massively honed his skills as a driver.
In Binotto’s eyes, the 23-year-old is deserving of an F1 seat, but considering how the various teams are going about their business of filling the vacant seats for 2023, it is highly unlikely that Shwartzam would be able to achieve his dream of racing in F1 at least for the next season.
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)