The Aston Martin Formula 1 team has confirmed ahead of the Italian Grand Prix that Dutchman Nyck De Vries will be at the wheel of the AMR22 this Friday for the first free practice of the weekend at Monza.
De Vries has already begun his preparatory work this week in the Aston Martin team simulator at the team’s headquarters in Silverstone, UK. De Vries will drive Sebastian Vettel’s AMR22 this Friday at Monza, and it will be his third free practice session this season having already driven the Williams in Barcelona and the Mercedes W13 at the French Grand Prix.
“I’m really looking forward to driving for Aston Martin, especially at a legendary circuit like Monza. This will be my third FP1 session of the season, and in the third different Formula 1 chassis, and these opportunities have given me a fantastic insight into how Formula 1 cars and teams work and operate.” said the Dutchman.
“I hope I can bring a new perspective to the Aston Martin team and be able to undertake a race programme that will prove beneficial to both of us.”
Nyck De Vries’ drive at Monza has been arranged in agreement with Mercedes-AMG and is in line with the 2022 regulations which require all teams to run two free practice sessions with drivers who have not competed in more than two Grands Prix.
Aston Martin has not yet confirmed who will run the second free practice session still available for a young driver this year.
De Vries won the 2020–21 Formula E World Championship and the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship, as well as the 2010 and 2011 Karting World Championships. He was signed to the McLaren young driver programme from January 2010 until May 2019 and Audi Sport racing academy from October 2016 until August 2019.
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Meanwhile, Antonio Giovinazzi and Robert Shwartzman were both on track at Fiorano on Tuesday in last season’s Ferrari SF21 to familiarise themselves with an F1 car before taking part in free practice sessions this season.
Antonio Giovinazzi, Scuderia Ferrari’s reserve driver, completed his programme before the lunch break, after which the Italian returned to the simulator to continue his preparations for next Friday, when he will slip into the cockpit of the Haas VF-22 for the first free practice session of the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza track.
This will be his first time driving a new generation Formula 1 car.
In the afternoon, it was the turn of Scuderia test driver Robert Shwartzman, who returned to the 2021 car he drove in mid-July at the Mugello circuit. For the Russian, too, this test was a preparation for the two free practice sessions in which the driver, who drives under an Israeli license, will drive this season’s F1-75 (Ferrari has not yet specified the dates of these drives).
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