Russian motor racer Robert Shwartzman will continue racing for Team Prema in 2021 FIA Formula 2 World Championship, the press office of the team said in a statement on Monday.

“Prema Racing and Robert Shwartzman will extend their commitment to the FIA Formula 2 Championship throughout the 2021 season,” the statement from the team reads. “The Russian, a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, will return for his second year in the series after cruising to six podiums including four race wins, the highest amount of race victories among his fellow contenders.”

The Russian racer finished the 2020 F2 World Championship fourth in the overall drivers’ standings. In October 2017, Shwartzman became the first Russian ever to join the Ferrari Driver Academy at the age of 18 alongside trainees Giuliano Alesi, Marcus Armstrong, Enzo Fittipaldi, Antonio Fuoco, Charles Leclerc and Guan Yu Zhou.

Lawson, who alongside Albon will make appearances in the DTM series in 2021, is ready for the step up to F2 after spending the last two years in F3. “I’m excited to be racing in F2 with Hitech. New Zealander Marcus Armstrong’s move to the DAMS team for the 2021 Formula 2 season has been confirmed. The 2019 FIA Formula 3 runner-up contested last year’s F2 campaign with ART Grand Prix.

“He is now set for his fourth consecutive season under the PREMA banner, aiming to take another key step in his successful career so far,” according to the statement.

Commenting on Shwartzman’s stay for another season, Prema Team Principal Rene Rosin said: “We are delighted to extend our relationship with Robert into the 2021 season.”

F2 Racing 2021 Schedule

“We thoroughly enjoyed working with him so far and we are really proud of his continued progress,” the head of Team Prema continued. “He truly has a rare talent, and we are looking forward to seeing him take another step next year.”

“In 2020, he immediately proved he could run for wins, and we want to build on that immediacy to be consistent contenders in 2021,” Rosin added.

F2 Race Calendar 2021

The 21-year-old Russian racer stated that he was “happy” to continue his cooperation with F2 Team Prema next year.

“I am happy to race in Formula 2 with PREMA again in 2021,” the statement from Shwartzman reads. “Our target as a team is obviously to win and make progress in terms of results from this season, working hard, improving the car but also enjoying another year by staying together and having fun.”

“It will be our fourth year working together, and we are going to make the most out of it. I want to thank everybody who supports me for their dedication and commitment,” Shwartzman added.