Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Enzo Fittipaldi will drive for Jaguar in next week’s Formula E rookie test in Berlin.
The 22-year-old is the fifth Formula 2 driver to be picked to take part in the test on May 13, after Dennis Hauger (Porsche), Kush Maini (Mahindra), Jak Crawford and Zane Maloney (both Andretti Global).
He is the most experienced of the quintet in F2 terms, but is totally new to FE and Jaguar.
“This will be my first time driving a FE race car and I am really looking forward to the opportunity,” said Fittipaldi.
“I’ve spent some time in the simulator at the team’s headquarters in Kidlington to give myself the best chance to have a successful test in Berlin. The rookie test is a great opportunity for young drivers to try an all-electric motorsport category and I can’t wait to get some experience.”
Fittipaldi made his F2 debut in 2021, coming 20th in the standings after contending three rounds. His first full season resulted in six podiums and eighth in the standings, and last year a maiden win and an improved scoring rate meant he rose one position in the championship. Three rounds into this season he sits sixth in the points with a win and a third place.
The Van Amersfoort Racing driver spoke to Formula Scout during F2 in-season testing, saying he “feel[s] really good in the team”.
“With me and the feedback I give, I just feel like the chemistry is good this year. So I’m excited to see what we can do until the end of the season.”
Fittipaldi is “trying to help them with that [learning] process” since F2 has a new car this year and VAR is only in its third season in the championship while “a lot of teams here have been in GP2, F2 for a really long time”.
“At the same time we’re here to win races and fight for a championship,” he stated.
One aspect he feels he is benefiting from this year is VAR being the third team he has raced for in F2, as “each team has their own characteristics” and “you learn a lot going from one team to another because you can see how different it is”. He calls working with “a lot of different race engineers and team-mates” a “good experience” and has finetuned his event preparations as his experience has grown.
“I feel like for every race weekend I’m arriving well prepared. I have all my notes from the last two years, which obviously helps. I think it’s helpful to take notes [of] all this because at the end you get very little driving. You go to a race weekend, you have [45] minutes in free practice. So having the experience from the year before, knowing where you have to brake at turn one, turn four, it makes a difference. These little things make a difference.”
He will not be able to rely on any such familiarity of the little things on his FE test debut.