Born in Israel, Shwartzman raced under the Russian flag for most of his life until the FIA banned drivers from competing with it following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
At just four years old, Shwartzman began karting before making the move into Formula 4 as a teen in Germany and Italy.
He enjoyed early success with race wins and podiums in his first two years before moving to the then very popular Formula Renault series across Europe.
The 2017 season was when he began to make waves. That year, Shwartzman was signed to the Ferrari Driver Academy, joining the likes of Marcus Armstrong and Guanyu Zhou.
Off the back of a solid Formula Renault season where he finished third overall in the top championship, Shwartzman headed to New Zealand to compete in the Toyota Racing Series.
It was a championship of consistency, never finishing worse than fifth in the 15-race season.
In a dramatic conclusion to the series, Shwartzman beat Richard Verschoor and Armstrong to the title when the New Zealander’s car overheated on a Safety Car restart.
Shwartzman proved that consistency was key to success, and that became an enviable trait.
In the FIA European Formula 3 Championship, he finished lower than 10th only thrice in a 30-race season.
The title went the way of Mick Schumacher while the Israeli finished third behind Dan Ticktum, but it set Shwartzman up for the following year’s FIA Formula 3 Championship.
Shwartzman beat Armstrong, again – and by a handy margin too. In 20 races, he took three wins and suffered just one DNF in another campaign where he finished outside the top five on just two occasions. He was proving to be a safe pair of hands.
Shwartzman continued to work his way up the ladder, making it to the FIA Formula 2 Championship. Across two seasons, he finished fourth and second in the standings – the latter, he was runner-up to Oscar Piastri, who, as we know, is no slouch.
Ultimately, there was no F1 berth, but Ferrari kept him around as a test and reserve driver, which earned him tests with the Scuderia and a free practice hitout with Sauber.
Eventually, he pivoted to sports cars and GT racing across the FIA World Endurance Championship and GT World Challenge Europe where he was a race winner in both.
It was a logical step and one where he could carve out a successful career. However, another call came soon enough.
Having been a Prema driver from 2018, it made sense that the Italian team came knocking when it began its IndyCar program.
The ladder took Shwartzman towards F1, but he admitted after taking pole position for the Indy 500 that IndyCar has long been on his radar.
“My first memory was when I was [at the] Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monaco, I was just as a kid, let’s say, just watching the Formula 1 race, and at the same time it was going, the Indy 500,” he explained.
“So there was my friends and sponsors, and they invited me to a yacht, like the part of Monaco. I was just sitting there. It was no Formula 1 running. It was actually after the race of Formula 1.
“Normally, Monaco is quite boring, as we know. There is not many possibilities of overtaking. It’s more quali race for me. Then we were just sitting there, and on the TV there was the Indy 500.
“Honestly, I was just looking. It was so much more exciting. I was just, like, ‘Damn, until the last turn you don’t know who is going to win’. I was being like, ‘Okay, this guy is fast, he’s going to win’, and then all of a sudden, no, he’s getting overtaken and then another guy and another guy.
“That was the first memory. ‘Damn, this is amazing. This is a proper battle’. Then I obviously started hearing a lot of things about Indy that it’s another way from Formula 1. Let’s say if you don’t go to Formula 1, the best thing is to go to IndyCar. Here we are.
“It happened so that unfortunately I haven’t been given a chance to go to F1 even though I really tried my best. I know it’s, like, ‘Okay, if that’s not the way to go, I’ll try here in Indy’, and here we are. I think it’s a good place to be in. I really like it. I really enjoy it.
“It’s my first experience on ovals. That was just something unbelievable. Especially going 240 miles an hour, which is like 385 kilometres an hour. It’s just a new experience. I’ve never driven so fast a car.
“Now sitting here being in pole position is just, again, just a wow.”
It’s been a trying start to the season, to say the least. The Chevrolet-powered team has had a tough start to life in the series, with just one top 20 between its two drivers.
That’ll have all been forgotten by now, however. If nothing else, Shwartzman and Prema can say they started the Indianapolis 500 on pole position on debut.
Shwartzman will start from the pole on Monday, May 26 (AEST).
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