Official: Pietro Fittipaldi replaces Romain Grosjean
The day after Romain Grosjean's terrifying accident, it's already time to focus on the next race, which is coming up this weekend. Haas has decided to entrust the wheel to its reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi, who will make his F1 debut!
After the shock, comes the time for reaction and a return to normalcy. After a night under observation at Bahrain hospital, Romain Grosjean emerges from his incredible accident with only burns on his hands from leaning on the flaming barrier. He suffers no fractures. His health condition inspires confidence in the doctors, who should allow him to leave the hospital as early as tomorrow, Tuesday, and reunite with his family.
On the other hand, he will not be able to get behind the wheel of his Haas this Friday, for the second consecutive Grand Prix in Sakhir. To replace him, Haas has called on their reserve driver, Pietro Fittipaldi, as confirmed by Günther Steiner, the team director: After it was decided that the best thing for Romain was to miss at least one race, the choice to put Pietro in the car was quite easy. He has been patient and has always been ready for such an opportunity, which has now materialized. If the last name sounds familiar, it’s normal: he is the grandson of the double Formula 1 world champion and double Indy500 winner, Emerson Fittipaldi! He will therefore be the fourth representative of the family in F1 after Emerson, Wilson (his uncle), and Christian (his cousin).
Pietro Fittipaldi has held his reserve position since last season and was confirmed in his role at the start of the season. He wasn’t the only contender for the seat as Swiss Louis Delétraz also holds this position. However, he is already committed to Formula 2 for the last race of the season, while the Brazilian is free from any competition programs as he only participated in Asian F3 last winter. This proved to be beneficial as his fifth place in the championship allowed him to earn six points for the FIA Super License, reaching a total of 41 points, one more than needed to be eligible for a spot on the F1 grid!
At 24 years old, he will be able to make his debut in the premier category, although his track record remains unimpressive for the moment, with only one title in Formula V8 3.5, which has since disappeared from the scene. It remains to be seen whether he will only compete in this race or if he will be back behind the wheel for the Abu Dhabi finale.
