Pietro Fittipaldi is returning to the team with which he made his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut three years ago, driving the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing with RWR entry at all 2021 oval events on the schedule.

Fittipaldi, 24, will share driving duties of that full season entry with his former Haas F1 Team and current Dale Coyne Racing with RWR teammate Romain Grosjean, who is taking part in all the road and street course races on the schedule. Fittipaldi is the grandson of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and two-time Formula One World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi.

“I'm very happy to be racing the ovals this season in the No. 51 car for Dale Coyne Racing with RWR,” Fittipaldi said. “I'm especially excited for the Indianapolis 500. It's been a dream of mine since I was a kid to race in the Indy 500. All of Dale's cars were competitive there last year and the last few years, and we're looking to do the same this year.

“I'm also very happy to be sharing the car with Romain. He's a good friend of mine. Over the years at Haas F1, we've become friends, and it's great to be teammates with him again. The No. 51 is the same number I used in my Formula One debut last year, so it's a nice coincidence to have. I've worked with some of the guys at Dale Coyne Racing in the past, so I'm happy to be working with them once again. I'm sure we'll able to do great things. I'm really looking forward to it!”

Fittipaldi, the 2017 World Series Formula V8 3.5 champion, first joined Dale Coyne Racing in 2018 for a partial season where he ended up taking part in six races. The American-born Brazilian driver made his debut at Phoenix Raceway, where he qualified an impressive 10^th.

He was initially scheduled to attempt to qualify for his first Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, but an accident during qualifying at a World Endurance Championship round overseas in early May 2018 sidelined him for a couple of months and ended his chance of turning his first laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that year.

Fittipaldi returned to the cockpit at the Mid-Ohio round later that season and picked up his best finish at the penultimate round of that season, a ninth-place result at Portland International Raceway.

“We enjoyed working with Pietro in 2018,” team owner Dale Coyne said. “It’s unfortunate that his season was shorter than planned, so it’s great to be able to give him another chance to do some races in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and that he has another chance to participate in the Indy 500 and fulfill one of his childhood dreams. We look forward to seeing him share our No. 51 entry alongside his former Haas F1 teammate Romain Grosjean. It gives us a strong lineup for our full-time entry.”

Following his first stint with Dale Coyne Racing in 2018, Fittipaldi became the official test and reserve driver for Haas F1, and competed in the DTM series and the F3 Asian Championship. More recently, he made his Formula One debut last December with the Haas F1 team as a replacement for Grosjean, taking part in the two final rounds of the season.

In addition to his four races with Dale Coyne Racing with RWR, Fittipaldi will continue as the Haas F1 reserve driver for the 2021 season.

Fittipaldi’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES season will kick off at the Texas Motor Speedway doubleheader May 1-2 before heading to Indianapolis to turn his first official practice laps on oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.