Pietro Fittipaldi describes Indy500 as “the greatest race in the world”

Pietro Fittipaldi is full of excitement as his first Indianapolis 500 approaches, which he believes will be the greatest event racing has to offer.

The Brazilian racing driver made his Formula 1 debut with Haas in 2020 and contested the Sakhir and Abu Dhabi GPs. Now he’s preparing for another premiere, his first attempt at the Indy 500.

Fittipaldi, grandson of two-time Formula 1 world champion Emerson Fittipaldi, will contest the Indy 500 with Dale Coyne Racing instead of ex-Haas driver Romain Grosjean, who will not take part in IndyCar’s oval events.

As a child, Fittipaldi watched the action play out at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when his love for the Indy 500 began. Now he has the chance to take part in what he thinks is the greatest that there is in racing.

“I’m very excited because I’ve seen the Indy 500 in a long time,” he said.

“I think the first 500 I went to was when my uncle Max Papis was racing in 2006, and I’ve watched every year since then.

“For me it is the greatest race in the world and if you win it, you will make history. To be part of it, I am very excited and looking forward to it.

“I think it’s huge, not just in the US but in the world because if you win the 500 it will make a huge difference to your personal career and to your team too. You win the race and it will be remembered for years.

“If you go there yourself, you will see how big the race is. I was on the grid that year when my uncle was racing and 400,000 people were in the stands.

“When everyone works to start the engines, you can hear the vibrations of the crowd. I’ve never been to a race where so many people are watching together at the same time.

“I’m also proud to represent Haas in the Indy 500, even if it’s only a small part, I’m super proud and happy to be doing that.”

Mega Drive from @PiFitti yesterday to qualify for the # Indy500 in P13

Excited for next weekend

# HaasF1 pic.twitter.com/0zIuGreXfz

– Haas F1 Team (@ HaasF1Team) May 23, 2021

Check out the Haas collection in the official Formula 1 store

In order to be able to take part in the Indy 500 on May 30th, the drivers had to qualify first.

However, Fittipaldi had no problem with it as he qualified P13 at an average speed of 230.846 mph over four laps.

For his efforts, Fittipaldi was named “Fastest Rookie of the Year”, which brought him to the trophy under famous names such as Michael Andretti and Jacques Villeneuve.

“I was named the fastest rookie for the Indy 500 Award, which they have been doing for many years because I was the fastest rookie in qualifying,” he said.

“My name was put on this special trophy that has every year and every speed to qualify as the fastest rookie every year. There are names like Michael Andretti and Jacques Villeneuve there so it was a great honor for me to be placed on the same trophy alongside some of these legends.

“When I was there waiting to qualify on Saturday, every car goes out individually and you wait by your car – the adrenaline that builds up is insane and unlike anything else I’ve done.

“It was incredible to qualify and do an average of 230 mph for four laps. That was something incredible and I really liked it.”

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