“Part of our Ferrari Driver Academy” – Former Alfa Romeo Antonio Giovinazzi and current Haas Mick Schumacher have been named as Ferrari reserves for the upcoming season.
Antonio Giovinazzi and Mick Schumacher both are part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, which has proven to be a brilliant launchpad for drivers in Formula 1 – for Ferrari and otherwise.
With Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz forming arguably the most stable partnership in the paddock currently, there is little scope for any other driver to fulfill their lifelong dream of driving for the greatest team in the sport.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. That’s it. That’s the tweet.❤️ pic.twitter.com/VUi58rxIYR
— Isa¹⁶ (@isailottleclerc) December 14, 2021
So the move to promote Giovinazzi and Schumacher is an apt move by the team, as it gives two deserving drivers a potential shot with Ferrari or partner teams Haas/Alfa Romeo next season, as highlighted by team principal Mattia Binotto.
“Antonio will not drive in Formula 1 for next year, but he will remain our reserve driver for 2022.
“He will be our reserve driver for 12 races, compatible with the Formula E calendar, to which he has decided to move and on which we are very happy because that will keep him trained.
“He will be available to our customer teams as well, both Haas and Alfa Romeo, so whenever he will be at the tracks, sometimes he will not be reserve driver to Ferrari but available to our customer teams as well.
“For the remaining 11 races he will not be there, Mick will be our reserve driver.
“That’s a great one. [He has] a second season in F1, coming from the Ferrari Driver Academy. I’m very happy he can be a part of the team as a reserve driver whenever that will be necessary – hopefully not!
“He is a Ferrari driver and we should not forget that.
“He has been a part of our Ferrari Driver Academy, which is to identify who can be the next Ferrari driver for the future. Being part of it shows you are doing well, and no doubt you may have opportunities.
“He’s already had one season in F1, which is important, and through the season he did well, improved himself not only in terms of consistency but also in terms of speed.
“If I look at the last race he was a lot closer to the cars ahead, and Haas didn’t develop the car at all, so the fact he was closer proved he had a good improvement in speed.
“He will be driving the 2022 cars next year, cars a lot different to those of this year, with driving style, and it will be important to have one driver who understands [the cars] as reserve driver.
“I can still count on Antonio because he is a good driver, [but[ he will have a full programme of the simulator to bring him up to speed in terms of the 2022 driving style.”
