Pietro Fittipaldi, who is reserve driver for the Haas Formula 1 team, has signed a deal to race full-time in IndyCar next year with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
He has been chosen over former Red Bull junior Juri Vips for RLL’s number 30 car. Vips entered contention for the seat after contesting the final two races of the 2023 IndyCar season with the team.
Fittipaldi is new to RLL, but not to IndyCar. He did six races in 2018 with Dale Coyne Racing and had a best finish of ninth, then did three oval races with the team two years later. Since 2019, Fittipaldi has been part of Haas and he made his F1 debut at the end of 2020. It is not clear if his association with them will continue given 12 IndyCar races next year take place on the same weekends that F1 is racing.
“It’s an honour to join a team of the calibre of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing,” said Fittipaldi. “With the experience I’ve gained over the last few years in F1 and other racing series, I am looking forward to the challenge of racing in IndyCar, one of the most competitive and versatile racing series in the world.”
Alongside his F1 duties, Fittipaldi has spent 2023 racing prototype sportscars. He is eighth in the World Endurance Championship’s LMP2 Endurance Trophy with one round to go, having won his class in the Six Hours of Monza race, and has made three starts in North America’s IMSA series.
RLL co-owner Bobby Rahal said he was “impressed with the maturity and experience that he will now bring to our programme.”
“I look forward to seeing what he can do over a full season of IndyCar competition in 2024,” he added.
RLL will have three full-time drivers next year, with Rahal’s son Graham spending a 12th season with the team and hoping to take his first win since 2017. Christian Lundgaard will go into his third IndyCar season having taken his first win and finished eighth in the points table this year.
Fittipaldi is the grandson of Emerson Fittipaldi, the two-times Formula 1 world champion, twice winner of the Indianapolis 500 and 1989 CART IndyCar champion.
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GeeMac (@geemac)
24th October 2023, 7:41
Glad for him, that Haas reserve role was a bit of a career dead end in all honesty.