Fittipaldi closes the circle with the series return in Texas

Life has a way to come full circle, and so is Pietro Fittipaldi’s racing career.

Fittipaldi, the 24-year-old grandson of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi, did not have a first chance to compete at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 4th in Belgium due to severe leg injuries in an endurance world championship race in Belgium in 2018. However, later that season he recovered enough to return to Dale Coyne Racing, where he made the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth NTT INDYCAR SERIES starts of his career.

Fast forward to 2020 and Fittipaldi, then in his second season as reserve driver for the Haas F1 team, was asked to stand in for Romain Grosjean, whose hands were burned in a major accident in Bahrain on November 29th. Fittipaldi drove the team’s # 51 car for the last two races of the Formula 1 season.

The connections will continue with the INDYCAR races in May.

Fittipaldi will begin its INDYCAR season with four races – the two races this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, and the race on August 21 at World Wide Technology Raceway – in a Dale Coyne Racing car with RWR. The car number? Yes, 51 again, the Nurtec ODT Honda No. 51. And the road circuit specialist who drove the car in the first two races of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season? You guessed it: Romain Grosjean.

“A strange coincidence,” said Fittipaldi on Wednesday. “It’s like we follow each other everywhere.”

All of this dates back to 2018 when Fittipaldi bonded with Dale Coyne and, after recovering from the injuries, met Grosjean to prepare for Fittipaldi’s first F1 test in November. INDYCAR fans are only just beginning to realize what kind of person Grosjean is, and Fittipaldi gave an example of this in the media call on Wednesday.

“He’s going to have a motorhome for the (GMR Grand Prix at IMS on May 14th and 15th) and he called me and said for the weeks I’ll be in Indianapolis (for the” 500 “) can you use my mobile home, ”said Fittipaldi. “It’s a huge favor he’s doing for me. It’s great (because) he has this 42 foot RV that I’ll have for two weeks. It’s great that he did that.

“Now you have to come over for a barbecue.”

Fittipaldi, a Brazilian who lives in Miami, can’t hide his excitement about returning not only to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES but also to the oval race. Of its six series starts in 2018, three were on oval tracks, including an eleventh place at Gateway. (He also finished ninth in the road race at Portland International Raceway.)

He has driven a number of cars over the years but is particularly proud to have started his professional career with late model cars and winning the 2011 season championship at Hickory, North Carolina Motor Speedway, a short oval. He has always felt the calling to go in circles, as members of his family have done with great success.

Christian Fittipaldi is not only his grandfather, but also his cousin and Max Papis his uncle because he married the sister of Pietro’s mother. Christian finished second with Jacques Villeneuve in the “500” in 1995, and the family members made 14 starts in Indy.

Papis, who works with young INDYCAR drivers in his role as race steward, was often by Fittipaldi’s side in recent tests at Texas Motor Speedway and IMS, and Fittipaldi stuck to every word.

“There’s still a lot to learn,” said Fittipaldi. “Driving one-seater on an oval is very different, especially with the new Aeroscreen. The car has a slightly different balance than I was used to (2018). It’s also always difficult to follow cars to get used to the experience not only in Texas but also in Indianapolis, as you can drive fast laps in practice yourself and be fast in qualifying, but you go into the race and it does let’s go It’s difficult to have the experience of following in traffic, timing passes and all of those things.

“That will be the main thing … and do everything under my control and get the best possible result.”

Fittipaldi’s first chance to drive in Texas comes in the Genesys 300, a 212-lap race at 7 p.m. (ET) on Saturday. Sunday’s second race is the XPEL 375, a 248-lap affair that starts at 5pm. Both races will be broadcast live on NBCSN and on the INDYCAR Radio Network.

The weekend’s only workout, a 75-minute session, will take place on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. ET (live on Peacock Premium, NBC’s streaming service). Qualification for the NTT P1 Award will take place on Saturday at 4 p.m. (live) on Peacock and NBCSN. This defines the starting grid for both races.

Fittipaldi said his family were very supportive of his retreat to INDYCAR. Christian told him to make the experience “step by step on the ovals”. Since Papis cannot show preferential treatment as race steward alongside two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk, most of his instructions to Fittipaldi are procedural.

Before the IMS test, Papis and Luyendyk drove a few laps with Fittipaldi in a pace car. Papis asked Luyendyk to “teach him the tricks for the pole laps”. Luyendyk holds the one- and four-lap qualifying records on the speedway.

“It’s great to have their support,” said Fittipaldi.

Team owner Coyne will be the strategist for Fittipaldi’s car at these races, and his advice has been focused on one aspect of the task at hand.

“It’s just about being patient on the ovals,” said Fittipaldi. “It’s one thing he often says, ‘You have to be patient and take it one step at a time.’

“It’s always easy to look forward to ovals because there’s so much adrenaline and so much stuff. So it’s really just about taking it easy. It’s a long race too, so there are things you will learn and tune the car with wings and other things and even (learning) with driving throughout the race.

“I am sure that we will take a big step from the first to the second race.”

All NTT INDYCAR SERIES training and qualification tournaments this season, as well as race replays and live Indy Lights races, are available on Peacock Premium, which is available on www.peacocktv.com for $ 4.99 per month.