F2 racer Enzo Fittipaldi has confirmed that he has joined the Red Bull driver academy.
The 21-year-old is the grandson of double Formula 1 world champion Emerson Fittipaldi and brother to Haas reserve driver Pietro. He has impressed in F2 so far this season, currently sixth in the standings with half-a-dozen podium finishes to his name, with one race weekend remaining in the season.
He is in Sao Paulo this weekend for the F1 Brazilian Grand Prix. And it appears to have been decided that this is the perfect time for the Brazilian racer to be announced by Red Bull as a part of their young driver setup.
"I'm very happy to announce that I will be joining the Red Bull Family! Thank you Dr Helmut Marko and Christian Horner for the opportunity!" wrote Fittipaldi on social media. That message was accompanied by a photo of himself shaking hands with Marko, who oversees Red Bull's development programme.
Fittipaldi is now the fifth F2 driver to become part of that setup. Jehan Daruvala, Liam Lawson, Denis Hauger and Ayumu Iwasa are also affiliated with Red Bull, while Jiri Vips was also supported by the team until ties were cut after a video emerged of him using a racist slur while gaming online.
It comes after Nyck de Vries was signed up by Red Bull after attracting the interest of other teams. The Mercedes reserve impressed on his F1 debut at Monza, as a late stand-in for Alex Albon who missed the race weekend through illness.
Williams were keen to sign him permanently if they could, to replace the outgoing Nicholas Latifi, while Alpine were also said to be interested. But Red Bull swooped in to put him in an AlphaTauri seat for 2023, with Pierre Gasly leaving for pastures new.
"After Formula 2, I took a slightly different path with motorsport, but F1 has always been my dream and I’m grateful to be able to fulfil it," said de Vries after his first F1 race seat was confirmed. "I've had a lot of chances to experience the 2022 car this year and I think that has put me in a great position for the upcoming season, I hope this has helped to prepare me for what is to come.
"Having spent most of my teenage years in Italy for karting, I've always felt at home there, so for me, it's great to be joining an Italian team, that already has a real family feel, and I'm looking forward to meeting everyone and to start to build our relationship before the next season."
