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Formula 2 championship leader Mick Schumacher and his title rival Callum Ilott will make their grand prix weekend debuts driving for the Alfa Romeo and Haas Formula 1 teams in Germany.
Ferrari has five of its proteges racing in F2 this season, with second-year drivers Schumacher and Ilott first and second in the points and reigning Formula 3 champion Robert Shwartzman – who will get an FP1 outing in Abu Dhabi – fifth in his rookie campaign.
Schumacher, who won the F2 feature race at Sochi last weekend and finished third in the sprint race to move 22 points clear of Ilott, has been tipped to make his F1 debut next season with the Alfa Romeo team that he has tested with previously.
Ferrari has control over one of its customer teams Alfa’s seats. It is currently taken by Antonio Giovinazzi but the Italian has not had a convincing second F1 season alongside veteran Kimi Raikkonen.
Schumacher has also tested for Ferrari, the team his father Michael won five of his seven F1 titles with, and appears nailed-on to drive for the manufacturer in the post-season Abu Dhabi test that is ostensibly reserved for ‘young drivers’.
Ilott has also tested for Alfa before, though crashed in Spain last year, while Shwartzman has yet to make his F1 testing debut.
Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies had said last weekend “there is a plan for these three guys [Schumacher, Ilott and Shwartzman] to ramp up with an F1 car and hopefully that will end up with them being able to express fully their talents at the young driver test”.
However, before then all three will get major opportunities with FP1 appearances in Ferrari’s customer teams.
In preparation for their official F1 weekend debuts, the three FDA drivers will test at Fiorano tomorrow in a 2018 Ferrari.
“We wanted to organise this test session so that our three best youngsters would be as well prepared as possible to tackle an event that will always be a special moment for them,” said Mekies on Tuesday.
“It will be a chance to get to grips with a Formula 1 car, which is much more complicated than the car they are currently used to driving.
“I would like to thank Haas and Alfa Romeo Racing for offering Callum, Mick and Robert this opportunity.”
Schumacher is replacing Giovinazzi for FP1 at the Nurburgring next week, and Romain Grosjean will make way for Ilott at Haas. It’s not yet clear which of the two teams will field Shwartzman in Abu Dhabi.
Post-season test plan, but no ‘shootout’
Two cars may be used for the one-day test at the Yas Marina circuit, which means Ferrari could run two of those juniors itself or call upon its engine customers Haas and Alfa to run a protege as well.
“The young driver test is a great opportunity,” said Mekies. “They will certainly be around at that test with us, or with our partner teams, so you will see them around there.
“It’s coming a bit late in the day, I guess, but on our side there is no real strong rush to take decisions. There is a plan that should lead them to be in the best possible positions at the young driver test.”
There are two other FDA drivers in F2 but rookie Marcus Armstrong has had a mixed debut season while Giuliano Alesi, son of ex-Ferrari driver Jean, has switched teams for the end of his second campaign.
Though Schumacher’s prospects look very good, Ilott and Shwartzman are also outside contenders for 2021 F1 seats depending on whether Ferrari increases its relationship with its customer teams in any way, or individual deals can be struck.
Mekies said that Schumacher’s and Ilott’s strong second years in the category and the highly-rated Shwartzman “playing with these guys straight away” has given Ferrari a “good problem to have”.
“It’s not a headache at all,” said Mekies. “As far as the three top [FDA] guys for this year are concerned, we are very happy. It gives us a lot of stability and options for the future and that’s exactly why we have FDA.
“We are conscious that having three guys potentially getting to the right spot at nearly the same time is not always possible to do but I think we have the tools in what we can offer to them in order to make sure we give them the chance to express their potential as best they can.
“Maybe today in F2, maybe testing tomorrow or a bit more next year, or the year after that.
“That’s what our target is, how do we build the programme that will allow them to express themselves best?
“We are not in a shootout mood. It’s about developing and the developments certainly doesn’t stop when you are at the door of Formula 1.”
It is unclear how Ferrari will execute its testing plan for its leading proteges, though could make do with just its own cars and enlisting Alfa to support it.
Haas has its own affiliated drivers in Pietro Fittipaldi and Louis Deletraz, so may have agreements in place to field either or both of those.
