A new Russian star may appear in Formula 1 in the near future. Robert Schwartzman kicked off the season in the Formula 2 class and won two races in the first three Grand Prix. His successes did not go unnoticed in the main racing series, and several team leaders immediately admired the 20-year-old pilot from St. Petersburg.
Schwartzman has long established himself in the world of motorsport. In 2017, he was included in the Ferrari support program and since then has not spent a single season without a win. In 2018, he won the Toyota Racing Series, and the following year he became the best in the Formula 3 competition.
This year, Schwartzman competes in Formula 2 for the Italian Prema team, which has strong ties to Ferrari and has already raised Charles Leclerc for Scuderia and Lance Stroll, Sergio Perez and Jules Bianchi for the other stables. Success in Formula 2 gave many pilots a ticket to the Royal Race, and now it is the Russian who is leading in the overall standings.
Even at the first stage in Austria, Schwarzman managed to climb the podium and finish third in the main race and fourth in the sprint (the top ten pilots participate in it according to the results of the main start, but they start in the reverse order. - RT ). But the main success awaited him a week later, already within the Styrian Grand Prix.
Schwartzman literally won the next race by a miracle. Before the start, his car switched to a safe mode of operation, which made it impossible to count on a good result. However, due to the rain, the start of the race was delayed, and the mechanics had time to tune the engine. The Russian from the sixth position managed to rise to the first.
A week later, Schwartzman again climbed to the top step of the podium, and again this was preceded by difficult circumstances. According to the results of the rain qualification, the Russian became only 11th. But at the start of the race, he was able to immediately win back five positions, and then, thanks to non-standard tactics, he was able to achieve an incredible advantage over his rivals by the end of the race and make a winning double. By the way, another Russian Nikita Mazepin finished second behind Shvartsman.
Following the results of three Grand Prix, Schwartzman scored 81 points and was 18 ahead of the closest pursuer Callum Ilott from the UK. Considering that there are only six confirmed stages left until the end of the season, this is a good start for a future victory. However, just like in Formula 1, the number of races may increase if the situation with the coronavirus improves.
The success of the Russian did not go unnoticed in Formula 1. Thus, Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko awarded Schwarzman with several epithets after his victory in Hungary.
“Smart, fast, tire-saving, really special,” Marco told F1-Insider.
Gunther Steiner praised the young pilot and head of Haas, although he noted that he was not yet ready to invite him to his team.
“I just saw that he won. He's doing great. Second win of the season. Fine. He is doing well now. Plus won the title last year. But at the moment I am not planning to sign anyone yet, ”Gunther told journalist Oleg Karpov.
But the most pleasant words for Schwartzman should be congratulations from the head of Ferrari Mattia Binotto, who noted the success of his young ward.
“Today, great results have come from our guys from the Ferrari Academy. I want to congratulate Robert Schwarzman with an amazing race and Mick Schumacher, who took third place, "- quotes Binotto Formula Passion.
It is with the son of Michael Schumacher that Schwarzman is now tacitly vying for promotion at Ferrari. He also enjoys the support of the Italian stable and managed to win in Formula 3. In Formula 2, he spends his second season, but so far he is in fourth place in the overall standings, having almost twice as few points as the Russian.
F1-Insider is already drawing parallels between Schwartzman and Leclair, who quickly rose to a spot in the Ferrari line-up with his excellent performance in the junior series. To repeat his path, the Russian needs to become the best in Formula 2, and then the Italian team will have no choice but to improve it - the winners of the junior series can no longer compete in them.
Of course, no one is ready to put Schwartzman behind the wheel of Ferrari, but he has a chance to be in the subsidiary team of the Alfa Romeo Scuderia. Moreover, its composition for the next year is still in question. Neither Kimi Raikkonen, nor Antonio Giovinazzi have yet managed to somehow show themselves in order to confidently count on a place in the Swiss stable.