Scuderia Ferrari have announced the drivers who will act as their reserve drivers to Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. for the 2022 Formula 1 season, with Mick Schumacher sharing the duties with Antonio Giovinazzi.
Schumacher will combine his racing duties with the Uralkali Haas F1 Team in eleven of the planned twenty-three races of the 2022 season, while Giovinazzi will be the reserve for the other twelve events as he combines his year with racing in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
The role for Giovinazzi keeps him in Formula 1 after losing his ride at the Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN team at the end of 2021, and he will be busy in Ferrari’s simulator throughout the year in a bid to help the team move forward. He will also be available to race for Ferrari’s customer teams – Alfa Romeo and Haas – should he be needed.
It is likely that should Schumacher is needed to switch to Ferrari, Pietro Fittipaldi would make a return to Formula 1 as he is a reserve driver for Haas.
Ferrari has also announced that Russian racer Robert Shwartzman will step up to the role of test driver for the team in 2022. Shwartzman competed in the FIA Formula 2 championship with Prema Racing in 2021 and ended the year second in the standings, and he also participated in the end of year Formula 1 test in Abu Dhabi with both Ferrari and Haas.
Shwartzman will also have a role within the simulator and will work alongside long-time Ferrari testers Antonio Fuoco and Davide Rigon.
2021 test driver Callum Ilott will step away from his role after signing to race in the NTT IndyCar Series with Juncos Hollinger Racing.
