Pietro Fittipaldi says his next career move would be to climb the sportscar racing ladder and secure a seat in the Hypercar or GTP classes, rather than make a return to IndyCar.
The Brazilian has established himself in the LMP2 division in the last few years, combining a programme in the IMSA Sportscar Championship with a drive in the European Le Mans Series.
While he previously abandoned his sportscar racing ambitions to race in IndyCar with Rahal Letterman Racing in 2024, the 30-year-old says he now has no plans to return to single-seaters and join his younger brother Enzo Fittipaldi, who currently leads the Indy NXT championship.
“Obviously, in an ideal world, both brothers racing in IndyCar would be an insane reality, but right now, I'm fully focused on sportscar racing; that's where my career is right now,” Fittipaldi told Motorsport.com.
“Enzo needs to get a shot at IndyCar and I'm sure with the right opportunity he will deliver.
“I raced with my brother at Daytona this year as team-mates for the first time. That was a dream come true already and we had the car to fight for the win, but unfortunately, we couldn't do it.”
Fittipaldi first eyed a move into the top echelon of sportscar racing when the new breed of LMDh and LMH cars became eligible to compete in IMSA’s new GTP class in 2023.
That year, he drove an Oreca 07 for Jota in the World Endurance Championship, opening up the possibility of stepping up to the British team’s Hypercar programme.
Any immediate move to either WEC’s Hypercar or its equivalent GTP category in IMSA didn’t materialise, as the former Haas Formula 1 reserve pivoted to IndyCar.
After gaining further experience in LMP2 in recent seasons, including several ELMS podiums with Vector last year, Fittipaldi says Hypercar and GTP are once again firmly on his radar.
“That's the goal, really. Before I chose to go to IndyCar in 2024 with Rahal, I had a few GTP opportunities,” said Fittipaldi who scored a class win at the WEC’s Monza 6 Hours in 2023.
“I went to IndyCar and now I'm back to sportscars and all of those seats are already filled, so it's kind of getting that momentum back now to be able to get that Hypercar/GTP shot again.”
