Russian-Israeli driver Robert Shvartsman participated in the first free practice session before the Mexican Grand Prix and received a five-place grid penalty.
Let’s find out how Robert ran the session, what infuriated the judges and what his chances are of becoming a prize-winning driver next year.
Three fast laps and one mistake
Robert’s training was not as easy as in Holland. The races were interrupted twice by red flags: first, there was dangerous debris on the track and after the restart there was a collision between Alexander Albon and Oliver Berman; The Briton replaced Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari in this session.
As a result, Shvartsman was able to complete the first fastest lap only 40 minutes after the start of training: 1:22.023. In his second fastest hard lap, Robert improved to 1:20.888, moving up to 17th place. For comparison, Bottas, who previously drove on hard tyres, recorded 1:21.806 and 1:21.353.
Shvartsman in training for the Mexican Grand Prix
Photo: Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber
If we compare Shvartsman with the experienced Finn, the difference is impressive: half a second. On the other hand, Robert looked good compared to other young drivers: in the Kick-Sauber, Schwartzman at that time was only 0.16 and 0.14 seconds behind Antonelli in the Mercedes and Lawson in the RB, respectively.
Shvartsman switched to soft tires only in the final minutes and on his first attempt on soft tires he completed a lap of 1:19.988. Bottas had previously shown 1.19.349 on the same tires and then improved to 1.19.048. Robert also made a second attempt on the soft, but in the first sector he lost 0.2 seconds on his own time, and then locked the wheels in a fast combination in the second sector and cut the corner.
Shvartsman’s mistake on the last attempt
In the final classification, Shvartsman took second-to-last place, only ahead of Berman and losing 0.94 seconds to Bottas. It is unlikely that Robert counted on such a result, but it should be noted that the Autódromo de los Hermanos Rodríguez is a very difficult track and Shvartsman had never competed on it before.
The circuit is located at an altitude of more than 2 km above sea level. The air here is quite thin and the teams use maximum downforce settings. Despite this, the level of downforce due to the less dense air is lower than at Monza, where the loading on the wings is minimal. It is not easy for a beginner to quickly adapt to such conditions, although O’Ward and Drugovich managed to get used to it: they were only two or three tenths behind their teammates.
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Five position penalty
Towards the end of the session it also became clear that the judges were waiting for Shvartsman: Robert overtook under a double yellow flag. This happened in the first half of the race, during a collision between Berman and Albon. Judging by Shvartsman’s reaction, the debris and damaged cars took him by surprise, leading to inattention and overtaking by Yuki Tsunoda.
“The collision happened right in front of me. By the time I saw the signal on the electronic panel, it was too late,” Robert later explained in an interview with The Race. “I was on a fast lap and Yuki was cooling the tires and was able to brake quickly. To avoid crashing, I flew past him and passed him. We talked about everything with the judges, they agreed that everything happened very quickly, there was no time to react. “I know it’s against the rules, but it all happened too fast.”
For this, the stewards penalized Robert with five places at the start of the Grand Prix. Which? The next one Schwartzman will star in! That is, if a driver is hired by Kick-Sauber or any other team as main driver, in his debut Grand Prix he will start five positions below his qualifying result. But what are the chances of Robert’s debut Grand Prix going ahead?
The judges are now the center of attention in F1:
The decision depends on Kick-Sauber
Schwartzman is among the candidates for a place at Kick-Sauber, otherwise they would choose someone else instead of Robert. At the same time, an unimpressive result in Mexico will not affect the young driver’s prospects: team leader Mattia Binotto has worked with Schwartzman at Ferrari for many years and knows his capabilities and speed well.
In free practice, Robert had to demonstrate his ability to work with the team and the engineer and complete the tasks assigned to him. Schwartzman, apparently, managed. Throughout the session, the engineer encouraged him, praising him for his fast laps, as well as his work with the tires and brakes. And at this point this is perhaps the most important thing.
At the same time, according to rumors, Gabriela Bortoleto remains the leading candidate to fill the vacant position at Kick-Sauber. He, however, is linked to McLaren and Audi is not keen on training a youngster who could leave for a rival at any moment.
Robert Schwartzman at the Mexican Grand Prix
Photo: Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber
The same applies to Franco Colapinto: Williams is willing to let the Argentine go, but they intend to retain his rights. Valtteri Bottas remains among the candidates, although the chances of the team meeting the Finn halfway and giving him a long-term contract are slim.
At the same time, there are rumors that Shvartsman already has a contract with the Prema team to compete in the IndyCar series. Robert had already tested the American production car and then set the best time. If these rumors are true, Schwartzman will partner Callum Ilott next year after two full seasons in IndyCar.
Keep in mind that either option (a contract with Kick-Sauber or a move to IndyCar) for Schwartzman almost certainly means a break with Ferrari. Recall that Robert joined the Ferrari Academy in 2017 and still represents the famous Italian brand in endurance racing. Schwartzman also looks very good in the WEC, but it seems that he has not yet said his last word on “formulas”. Robert himself limited himself to saying that his program for the 2025 season will be announced soon.
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