Anthony Davidson seriously impressed with ‘fantastic’ F1 rookie in Abu Dhabi practice

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Anthony Davidson admitted he was very impressed with Ferrari reserve driver Robert Shwartzman during the first Formula 1 free practice session in Abu Dhabi this weekend.

Davidson was on commentary duties for Sky Sports F1 alongside Rachel Brookes and Naomi Schiff.

They had an exciting selection of young drivers to assess with nearly every team using FP1 to run an obligatory rookie for the season.

The likes of Zak O’Sullivan in the Williams and Jake Dennis at Red Bull were taking part in their first-ever F1 session.

However, many of the drivers on show are building up the number of laps they’ve done in a Formula 1 car hoping to one day make the leap into the sport.

Robert Shwartzman is an example of what can happen when you’re on the cusp of being fast enough to force your way onto the grid.

Shwartzman competed in Formula 2 up until the 2021 season where he narrowly missed out on the title to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

After two strong seasons at that level, he became Ferrari’s test driver, before taking part in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup this year.

Davidson was impressed with Shwartzman in Abu Dhabi but questioned the next step in his career.

He’s been out of the Formula pipeline for a couple of years now and is no longer the up-and-coming driver teams will be looking at to fill a potentially vacant seat.

It seems as if unless Ferrari promote from within, he may struggle to make the step into F1.

Davidson enjoyed Shwartzman drive in Abu Dhabi

The Israeli-Russian driver finishing just behind teammate Carlos Sainz and Davidson said: “He [Carlos Sainz] goes ahead of Robert Shwartzman who did a fantastic job, look at that, under half a tenth away from Carlos Sainz.

“Now, if those two are running similar or identical set-ups and fuel loads and tyres etc then that is very, very good. And again Shwartzman, great body language from the car, really being pushed to the edge.

“So, yeah I’m intrigued to know what Ferrari say about Robert’s car and to get a bit of an inside scoop as well on how Shwartzman did.”

If, as Davidson suggests, Shwartzman and Sainz were running similar set-ups in Abu Dhabi, then it shows just how quick the 24-year-old is.

While it looks less and less likely that he’ll ever make the permanent step up into Formula 1, Shwartzman could easily carve out a very successful career elsewhere within motor racing.

With the backing of Ferrari, plenty of doors should be open to him.

It will be interesting to see where he ends up in 2024.