Pietro Fittipaldi Tag

By INDYCAR MONTEREY, Calif. – Scott McLaughlin led the opening practice for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on Friday, as NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers worked to come to grips with the evolution of the asphalt since the legendary WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca was repaved last season. McLaughlin was quickest at 1 minute, 7.6325 seconds in the No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile circuit that includes the famous “Corkscrew” turn complex. Numerous drivers spun or ventured off track while working to adjust to the lower levelsRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A new challenger enters the fray. After Josef Newgarden topped the board in Friday’s opening practice of the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park, Saturday brought a new contender with Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay putting his No. 21 Chevrolet on the top of the scoring pylon during the morning session. VeeKay’s lap of one minute, 6.5463 seconds was enough to hold off the second fastest car of Romain Grosjean, giving the smaller teams in the paddock something toRead More

By Kirby Arnold, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – Three years later than it was supposed to happen, a Fittipaldi is back in the Indianapolis 500.  Pietro Fittipaldi, 24-year-old grandson of two-time Indy winner and former Formula 1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi, qualified 13th fastest Saturday in the Dale Coyne Racing No. 51 car and will start the May 30 race on the inside of the fifth row at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  His Indy debut was supposed to happen in 2018.  Just days before he was to drive a Coyne car at Indy, Fittipaldi crashed onRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – On a hot Saturday at Indianapolis, 35 drivers had the daunting task of trying to put together four solid laps that’ll either get them into the Fast Nine or make the top-30. It’s no easy task as conditions, the luck of the draw and risking everything can dictate how a competitor go about their run. Scott Dixon wasted no time as not only he was the first man to qualify, he literally set the tone. His four-lap average of 231.828 mph was theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor They say things are bigger in Texas. As witnessed at the start of Sunday’s XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway, so are the wrecks. Coming to the green for the second race of an NTT IndyCar Series doubleheader in the Lone Star State, chaos erupted in the back half of the field, when Pietro Fittipaldi made contact with Sebastien Bourdais, sending him for a spin and collecting several other cars in the process. Among those involved were Fittipaldi, Bourdais, Dalton Kellett, Ed Jones, Alexander Rossi, TonyRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The first of two NTT IndyCar Series doubleheaders will unfold this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. It also happens to be half of the four-race oval lineup, which sparks some buzz due to it’s waning quantity of races. At the same time, oval racing provides tremendous excitement and changes among the 24-car grid. This weekend will mark the oval debut of Scott McLaughlin, Conor Daly’s return to Carlin, and the return of Brazilians Tony Kanaan and Pietro Fittipaldi. McLaughlin is excited to experience oval racingRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Specialists are common ground in the NTT IndyCar Series. Some are simply running a partial schedule because teams are focused with their main drivers or developing their operation. More recently, others are filling in drivers who aren’t keen on running ovals. In this second installment of our previews, we’ll highlight five drivers who’ll compete in specific circuits — Max Chilton, Ed Carpenter, Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan and Pietro Fittipaldi Max Chilton – No. 59 Carlin Chevrolet Age: 29 Years in IndyCar: 5 Best Finish: 4th (2017Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer When Romain Grosjean isn’t running the No. 51 Honda for Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing, Pietro Fittipaldi will be running the oval races this season. The current Haas F1 Team reserved driver will make his NTT IndyCar Series return after three years, slated to compete in the Texas doubleheader, Gateway and that elusive Indianapolis 500. Why elusive? In 2018, Fittipaldi was supposed to run for DCR’s No. 19 team until a career altering injury at a FIA World Endurance Championship event in Spa-Francorchamps dashedRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Haas F1 Team reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi is set to make his Formula One debut at the Sakhir Grand Prix, filling in the for Romain Grosjean, who is recovering from burns sustained at the Bahrain Grand Prix. As a result of Monday’s announcement, Fittipaldi – grandson of two-time F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi – will become the first third-generation driver to compete at a grand prix event. The 24-year-old Miami-born Brazilian has a unique racing background, which includes winning the 2017 Formula V8 3.5 championship, whereRead More

By FIA Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat put in a superb late quick lap of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catlunya to run quickest on the penultimate day of the first Formula 1 pre-season test of 2019. With less than 15 minutes left in the session, the Russian driver bolted on a set of the softest Pirelli compound on offer this season, the C5, and delivered a lap of 1:17.704s to edge Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen by 0.058s. The Finn had held top spot since the morning session after setting a time ofRead More