Ferrari star confirms shock exit ahead of Lewis Hamilton arrival as replacement emerges

Ferrari are reportedly lining up brother as their latest reserve after one of their current racers confirmed his exit.

Robert Shwartzman has been part of the setup for a long time, having made his way up the junior racing ladder with the backing of the Scuderia. But the Russian-Israeli driver never got the chance to show his skills in F1 and has been racing elsewhere while retaining his reserve status.

And he has now confirmed that he is parting company with Ferrari entirely. The announcement comes after confirmation that he will race in next season as part of the nascent Prema project in the USA.

Shwartzman confirmed on social media: "Driving for Scuderia Ferrari has been one of the best experiences in my life! I will never forget the feeling of driving a Scuderia Ferrari F1 car for the first time.

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"I will always be grateful for every single lap, every experience and it has been such a privilege to work with some of the most talented and bright people in racing. I know my time with the team has shaped me into a better driver and I am ready to carry all the memories with me into my next adventure.

"Grazie mille to all the Tifosi who have always been so supportive over the years and last but not least to everyone in the team who has believed in me, encouraged me and helped me along this journey I am truly thankful. See you soon, and Forza Ferrari."

Ferrari still have former racer Antonio Giovinazzi to call upon as a reserve. But, when it comes to selecting Shwartzman's replacement, there have been conflicting reports coming out of Italy as to the identity of the most likely candidate.

Corriere della Sera reports , who has lost his seat with Sauber, could return to the Ferrari family after a previous five-year stint. China's first ever F1 racer would bring with him serious financial backing while his presence could help the Italian carmaker reverse its declining popularity in Zhou's homeland.

However, claims there is "no evidence" Ferrari are interested in bringing Zhou back into the fold. Instead, they report Leclerc's younger brother Arthur will be handed the responsibility having, like Shwartzman, thus far failed to graduate into an F1 race seat.

As he has raced twice in F1 this season, is no longer a rookie in the eyes of and therefore will no longer count towards the mandatory number of practice sessions each team must give to such drivers per season. Regardless, he may still be called up from customer team to race for Ferrari next year should either Leclerc or be unavailable.