Pietro Fittipaldi was named as a Dale Coyne Racing with RWR co-driver with Romain Grosjean, running the four oval races during the 2021 NTT IndyCar season in the No. 51 Dallara-Honda.
“I’m very happy to be racing the ovals this season in the No. 51 car for Dale Coyne Racing with RWR,” Fittipaldi said in a release. “I’m especially excited for the Indianapolis 500. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid to race in the Indy 500. All of Dale’s cars were competitive there last year and the last few years, and we’re looking to do the same this year.”
During an IndyCar Zoom news conference Thursday, Fittipaldi said he would have more races to announce later this week but didn’t specify in what series.
Fittipaldi, 24, made six starts with DCR in the 2018 season, finishing a season-best ninth at Portland. He had been scheduled to make his Indianapolis 500 debut but was sidelined for two months because of injuries sustained in a World Endurance Championship crash.
🚨NEWS:
Very happy to announce I’ll be racing the ovals including the Indy 500 in the #51 car for Dale Coyne Racing @IndyCar 🇧🇷
Muito feliz em anunciar que eu vou correr as provas em ovais na @IndyCar incluindo a Indy 500 no carro #51 da @DaleCoyneRacing! pic.twitter.com/TJu9j2kp3s— Pietro Fittipaldi (@PiFitti) March 4, 2021
The grandson of two-time F1 champion and two-time Indy 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi made his Formula One debut a few months ago, racing for Haas F1 in the final two races last season in place of the injured Grosjean.
“I’m very happy to be sharing the car with Romain,” said Fittipaldi, who spent the past two seasons as the reserve and test driver for Haas F1 while also competing in the DTM series and the F3 Asian Championship. “He’s a good friend of mine. Over the years at Haas F1 we’ve become friends and it’s great to be teammates with him again. Coincidentally the No. 51 is the same number I used in my Formula 1 debut last year so it’s a nice coincidence to have. I’ve worked with some of the guys at Dale Coyne Racing in the past so I’m happy to be working with them once again. I’m sure we’ll able to do great things. I’m really looking forward to it,”
Said team owner Dale Coyne: “We enjoyed working with Pietro in 2018, it’s unfortunate that his season was shorter than planned, so it’s great to be able to give him another chance to do some races in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and that he has another chance to participate in the Indy 500 and fulfill one of his childhood dreams. We look forward to seeing him share our No. 51 entry alongside his former Haas F1 teammate Romain Grosjean, it gives us a strong lineup for our full-time entry.”
Fittipaldi also will remain as the Haas F1 reserve driver for the 2021 season. He said he plans to attend 18 of the 23 F1 races this year.