F1 News

Fittipaldi to drive for Haas in FP1 at Mexican and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix

11 October 2022 at 14:37
Last update 11 October 2022 at 16:28
  • GPblog.com

Pietro Fittipaldi is set to take part in two free practice sessions on behalf of Haas this year. Both Haas drivers will have to sit out a first free practice session to do so: Kevin Magnussen will do so in Mexico and Mick Schumacher in Abu Dhabi.

This fulfils Haas' obligations to loan a car to a rookie twice during a Formula 1 season. Under the new rules, each driver must give up his car once a season, giving rookies the chance to gain mileage despite the limited number of official tests.

Fittipaldi in action twice in F1

"I want to thank the Haas F1 team for the opportunity. I drove the car at the beginning of the year in Bahrain, but to get another chance to drive the VF-22, it’s going to be pretty amazing. It’s a very fast car and I’m looking forward to driving in Mexico and Abu Dhabi," says an excited Fittipaldi in a video message for Haas.

Fittipaldi, who is also Haas' reserve driver, will thus get behind the wheel again in the final stage of the season. Earlier this year, he already took part in the pre-season tests in Bahrain, so the Brazilian already has some experience with the new 2022 F1 car. Moreover, he has already finished two Grands Prix in 2020, filling in for Romain Grosjean after his frightening accident at the Bahrain GP.

Fittipaldi is not the only driver to get this opportunity: at the United States GP, Antonio Giovinazzi gets to drive the Haas car during the first free practice session. Giovinazzi is also among Haas' reserve drivers. Because of his links with Ferrari, he fulfils that role for all Ferrari-powered teams on the F1 grid.