European Le Mans Series: Pietro Fittipaldi leaves the G-Drive

The Algarve Pro Racing squad, who runs the two G-Drive Oreca entries for the Aurus brand in ELMS, announced this before the second ELMS round of this weekend at the Red Bull Ring.

The news follows that Fittipaldi will skip the Le Mans 24 Hours, which he was supposed to contest with John Falb and Rui Andrade because of a collision with the Gateway lap of the NTT IndyCar series.

The Brazilian driver signed to play all four oval laps of the IndyCar 2021 schedule for Dale Coyne Racing, including the two races held at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this month.

Fittipaldi’s ongoing Haas F1 reserve commitments were also cited as another reason for his split from G-Drive after just one race with the team in Barcelona last month.

“Unfortunately, due to conflicting data, I can no longer drive with G-Drive Racing, which is operated by Algarve Pro Racing,” commented the grandson of two-time F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi.

“The Le Mans 24 Hours was at odds with my IndyCar commitments and the frequent date changes coupled with travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have made it difficult to continue with ELMS and Le Mans.

“It’s disappointing and I wish I could keep going because we finished second in class in Barcelona and I’m sure there will be more to come. John and Rui have been great to work with but let’s see what happens in the future because I would love to have another opportunity to work with them and Algarve Pro Racing. “

Roberto Merhi will take Fittipaldi’s place in the # 25 G-Drive line-up alongside Falb and Andrade for the remainder of the ELMS season and Le Mans.

The Spanish driver replaced Fittipaldi at this month’s opening of the Spa FIA World Endurance Championship, in which G-Drive took part once while it was in action at IndyCar in Texas.

# 25 G-Drive Racing Aurus 01 – Gibson: John Falb, Rui Andrade and Roberto Merhi

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images