Popularity is rapidly growing for Robert Shwartzman, the 2019 FIA Formula Three Champion. This young athlete debuted in Formula Two on July 4th, quickly garnering the attention of thousands in this motorsport community. Racing initially at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, his first appearance saw a placement at P5. That positioning would quickly approve the next weekend onwards, with July 11th marking his first podium finish in Formula Two. Notably, this was during a horrendous downpour that saw visuals become incredibly limited over dozens of laps.
Challenges awaited Robert Schwartzman during the Styrian Formula Two Grand Prix. He’d continually be pressured by Yuki Tsunoda from the “Red Bull Honda Junior Racing Team”. Robert attempted multiple times to overtake Yuki, failing for the majority of laps. It wouldn’t be until Tsunoda began experiencing radio malfunctions that Robert acquired the lead. Instructions from Carlin Racing to Yuki Tsunoda prompted the Japanese driver to avoid his pit stop unintentionally.
Carlin Racing immediately acquired a “Pit Board”, swinging it between two fences as Yuki Tsunoda was doing another lap around the Red Bull Ring. This allowed the Japanese driver to finally make his pit stop, two laps after Robert Shwartzman. The pace was still in favour of Yuki Tsunoda until falling behind Guanyu Zhou, Robert Schwartzman & Callum Ilott and overcoming those two drivers in wet conditions to reobtain the lead on provided too challenging.
The Progress
Robert Shwartzman displayed his skillsets from the very beginning, starting in 6th place & inevitably making his first podium finish. This wouldn’t have been possible without the assistance of Prema Racing’s Pit Crew, who were able to release Robert Schwartzman in less than 1.5 seconds. This enabled the Prema Driver to quickly catch Guanyu Zhou after the pitstop, obtaining the subsequent lead.
It wouldn’t take long for Yuki Tsunoda to overtake Guanyu Zhou on the final lap. The Carlin Racing Driver would quickly reach Robert Schwartzman towards the chequered flag, with Robert holding onto the lead by a minor buffer. The discontent was evident with Yuki Tsunoda. It’s suspected the two will battle it out next week at Hungary after this weekends events.