INTERVIEW WITH PIETRO FITTIPALDI: “AIMING A RETURN TO WEC FOR 2026”
In an interview with the Pietro Fittipaldi at the third round of the ELMS at Imola this year, the American-Brazilian has told Motorsportsclicks he is aiming a return to WEC in 2026.
Long career in Sportscar racing
Pietro Fittipaldi has raced with Sports car for some seasons now, having had his first experience in DTM in the 2019 season with Audi. Debuting in ELMS in 2021, he got a first taste of the LMP2 car, racing at the first round of that season with the Russian team G-Drive, finishing 7th at Barcelona, the only round he took part in that year.
A year later, Pietro Fittipaldi announced he would do his first full-time season in the ELMS, with the traditional InterEuropol Competition team, and that would obviously include the participation at the 24 hours of Le Mans. However, that was not the best season for the Polish squad, finishing 10th with a magic podium at Spa-Francorchamps, starting from 39th overall on the grid with the #43 crew.
A first win in Pietro’s endurance racing career would come in 2023, when he signed for the Hertz JOTA team, when they still took part in the championship with the LMP2 machinery. After taking a first brilliant victory in Monza, Pietro and the crew of the #28 car sealed the season with a podium at the last race of the year in Bahrain, finishing 6th in the LMP2 standings.
Big twist in his career
A step up to Hypercars with JOTA was expected from the Grandson of the two-time F1 world champion in 2024. However, after a long time chasing Indycar, Pietro Fittipaldi finally signed a deal to race in the American series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan for the full season.
The 29-year-old had already gathered previous experience with American open wheel racing, having taken part in a total of 9 races between the 2018 and 2021 seasons, with a great 9th place finish in Portland. All the races he participated in were with the Dale Coyne team, known for signing rookie drivers in Indycar.
The return to Sportscar racing
Unfortunately, Pietro left Indycar after his first and only full season in the series so far, he told Motorsportsclicks:
“I love racing in sports car, but once I got the opportunity to race in Indycar, I decided to leave endurance. Unfortunately, after the season was over the team I was racing with [RLL] lost two title sponsors, and I had no other choice but to return to Sports car racing.”
Pietro returned to ELMS with Vector Sport and announced a full-time campaign in IMSA with Pratt Miller, which means he is racing in both America and Europe with LMP2. In the European championship he is currently sitting fourth in the championship, with two podiums and two further top 7 finishes in 5 races. At Imola, the strategy of his team did not pay off throughout the weekend due to the mixed weather conditions, and round 3 was the only one outside of the top 10.
Meanwhile in America, with the #73 crew, Pietro Fittipaldi has achieved 5 top 10 finishes in 6 rounds, but never above the sixth position. Pratt Miller is currently 11th in the LMP2 standings with two races to go, including the legendary Petit Le Mans event at the Road Atlanta racing track.
He also raced the 24 hours of Le Mans in 2025, finishing 7th on the United Autosport LMP2 car #22, having his long time team mate David Heinemeier-Hansson and van der Zande sharing the car with him.
Pietro told Motorsportsclicks that his large experience in single seaters is helping him in his endurance career, although it is needed to adapt to many different situations, including more drivers sharing the car with you. He states that “the more you drive the more you learn”, as his 5-season long contract as a Test driver of the Haas Formula 1 Team certainly contributed to his current campaign.
The future is WEC
What is Pietro chasing for the future? After Motorsportsclicks asked him this exact question, the American-Brazilian did not hold himself back about what he is willing to do in 2026:
“My aim is definitely to be returning to the World Endurance Championship next season, I am positive I will be able to get behind the wheel of an Hypercar.”
While the 2026 Hypercar grid slowly shapes itself up with the announcements, the rumours have been circulating about Pietro’s Fittipaldi situation, as the driver posted a some pictures inside the Cadillac team Headquarters during the past few months. With Jenson Button retiring from competitive racing at the end of 2025, Pietro Fittipaldi could be the perfect replacement for JOTA, who already had the the 29-year-old inside the team.
However, BMW and Mclaren (who will join the series only in 2027), still have free seats, although voices around the paddock state that the drivers are already chosen for the British team: Mick Schumacher, Mikkel Jensen and Malthe Jakobsen.
The free spot at Alpine left empty by Paul-Loup Chatin, who moved to Genesis, is set to be taken by the Portuguese Antonio Felix Da Costa, who will do a double campaign by racing in Formula-E full time with Jaguar.
Therefore, there are not many empty spots for Pietro Fittipaldi to take in WEC next season, but he certainly aims to race in the pinnacle of Endurance racing in 2026, let’s wait and see where he will end up.
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