Shwartzman: No. 83 Crew’s Focus Must Be on Overall Wins

Ferrari driver Robert Shwartzman says his personal goal is to fight for victories in the FIA World Endurance Championship this year, even while acknowledging the importance of success in the World Cup for Hypercar Teams to AF Corse.

Shwartzman made his WEC debut this season aboard the third-string No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, which he shares with Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye, having first tested the Italian prototype during last year’s end-of-season rookie test in Bahrain.

The trio opened their season with an impressive run to fourth in the Qatar 1812km, best of the Ferrari crews, before finishing eighth on the marque’s home turf at Imola.

Shwartzman qualified second at Imola behind poleman Antonio Fuoco, but a drive-through penalty for a full course yellow infringement left the No. 83 crew on the back foot before Ferrari slipped up on strategy amid changing conditions.

After two races, the No. 83 crew sits second in the World Cup for Hypercar Teams classification, a single point behind the No. 12 Hertz Team JOTA entry.

But Shwartzman says that he is racing with the mentality to compete for overall wins, and beating the two works Ferrari crews.

“If we are in P1 overall, it means by default we are P1 [in the World Cup], so from my side, we are aiming for P1 overall,” Shwartzman told Sportscar365.

“That’s the target. It is important for AF Corse to be P1 [in the World Cup], but in order to achieve it we have to focus on the bigger picture.

“Nobody is putting any pressure on us, it’s just a target from my side. I have been taught all my life to race for the win, not to cruise around, and that’s my mentality.

“If we prepare well, I think we are going to have good chances [to score overall wins].”

Shwartzman added that starting the season in Qatar finishing ahead of both of the works Ferraris “wasn’t a big surprise for me”, as the two official 499Ps ended up sixth and 12th.

He added: “I believe we are very strong, and we are all very determined to win. We know the other two cars are very competitive and they have more experience than us, but in my heart I believe we can keep going like this.”

The Israeli-born driver believes that the No. 83 AF Corse crew is not lacking anything in terms of resources and equipment compared to the No. 50 and No. 51 cars.

“I know all the work we have to do on our car, and there isn’t much time to compare who has more preference,” Shwartzman said. “I want to believe it’s fair and equal.

“From my side, I never noticed any difference, and I am always focused on doing the best possible job together with Robert and Yifei to have the best possible weekend.”

Shwartzman ‘Realized the World Doesn’t Revolve Around F1’

Shwartzman arrived in WEC this season having raced largely in single-seaters, although he did contest the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup with AF Corse in a Ferrari 296 GT3 last season.

Having finished as runner-up in Formula 2 in 2021, he has tested Ferrari F1 machinery on numerous occasions and continues to hold the role of reserve driver this year.

But the 24-year-old was keen to underline just how much he has enjoyed his time in the WEC so far and highlighted the differences between life in the two paddocks.

“Obviously most of my career I was always aiming for F1, but now that I tried WEC, I’ve realized that there are other big categories, and that the world doesn’t revolve only around F1,” said Shwartzman.

“WEC for me is a different mentality, sharing a car and having longer races. The atmosphere seems a bit lighter, a bit calmer. 

“In F1, everything happens so quickly and you are always running around. Here, you can enjoy it a bit more. You don’t need to rush.”

On his future beyond the current season, Shwartzman was reluctant to name any specific targets but said he hopes to remain with Ferrari for the long term.

“I am open to any opportunity, but my target is to win with any opportunity I have,” he said. “I have to do a good job this year and then we’ll see what the future looks like.

“I already spent six years with Ferrari, which is already a long time, and I feel good. If everything goes well, I hope to continue the journey together with Ferrari and we’ll see where it takes us.”

Asked if he had any feedback from Ferrari on his performances so far, Shwartzman replied: “Not really.

“I think maybe towards the end of the year is when we’ll have more serious talks. Also, I want to have something to show them. At the moment we have only just started.”