Photo: Formula Motorsport Limited
Enzo Fittipaldi will return to Charouz Racing System for a full season in Formula 2 after last year’s part-time campaign was shortened by injury.
The 20-year-old grandson of two-time Formula 1 world champion Emerson Fittipaldi started 2021 racing for Charouz in FIA Formula 3, and picked up one podium before he was called up to the team’s F2 line-up for the second half of the season.
He scored points once in eight races, with his seventh place in the second Jeddah sprint race being followed up by a startline accident in the feature race in which he crashed into a stalled car and broke his heel, which meant he missed the final round.
“For me, it’s a pleasure and an honour to be able to continue my adventure in F2 with Charouz Racing System,” said Fittipaldi, who is confirmed to have “now fully recovered” from his Jeddah crash two months ago.
“Last season they gave me the opportunity to debut in this category after a good first part of the season in F3 and this will allow me and the team to work immediately on the performance as from the first test sessions.”
He added that “it will be a long and demanding championship and the level of competitiveness has never been as high as this year, so it’s a great advantage not to have to spend the first testing days to get familiar with the car” and that on the agenda could be “some podium finishes and maybe some wins”.
The former Ferrari junior began his car racing career in Ginetta Junior, then spent two years in Italian Formula 4 with Prema which culminated in the 2018 title. After that he was runner-up in the inaugural Formula Regional European Championship season with the team, and made his F3 debut with Charouz in the 2019 Macau Grand Prix.
He chose HWA Racelab however for his rookie season in the category in 2020, and came 15th in the FIA F3 Championship with a best finish of fourth. Despite missing three rounds, he scored almost as many points and was 17th in 2021 with Charouz.
The team owner Antonin Charouz said: “Last year, [Enzo] proved that he deserved the chance to step up from F3 to F2, despite the bad luck that hit him at Jeddah.
“Now that he’s back in shape I’m sure this will only motivate him further to show what he’s capable of. Starting the season in an environment with which he is already familiar is certainly an advantage for both the team and the driver, and we will try in every way to take advantage of this condition to find the speed and be in the top 10 right away.”
Fittipaldi’s deal continues Charouz’s lengthy relationship with his family, having taken his older Pietro to the Formula V8 3.5 title in 2017, and follows on from Fittipaldi moving to the Czech Republic last year to be closer to the team’s base.