Who will sit next to two-time world champion Max Verstappen in the second cockpit of the Red Bull Formula 1 racing team? And how will sister team AlphaTauri position themselves in the future? A top talent always puts himself in a better position.
Enzo Fittipaldi is hot for Formula 1. The grandson of two-time world champion Emerson Fittipaldi (1972 in a Lotus and 1974 in a McLaren) and brother of two-time premier class starter Pietro Fittipaldi is currently attracting attention in Formula 2. The 22-year-old recently caught the attention of Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko attracted.
At the Formula 2 Grand Prix of Spa, Fittipaldi not only won the sprint race and was thus on the top of the podium for the first time in his career. The youngster then completed the podium in the main race in third place and thus secured important points in the overall standings for his team Rodin Carlin.
“When you’re in Formula 2, performance is the first step, so as long as I take this momentum into the next race weekends, who knows what can happen,” said Fittipaldi on “Sky”: “Right now I’m concentrating on it, continue to perform well and improve as a driver every time I go out on track, and then hopefully there will be opportunities.”
Chair back at Red Bull and AlphaTauri?
One possibility would certainly be that Enzo Fittipaldi gains a foothold at Red Bull in the premier class in the future. He has been part of the junior program since November of last year. The racing team is watching very closely, as Fittipaldi himself revealed: “Dr. Marko congratulated me on the race weekend.”
Marko is considered a key figure when it comes to determining driver pairings in Formula 1. The Austrian recently replaced Nyck de Vries, who had been committed to the start of the season, with substitute driver Daniel Ricciardo after only ten races for AlphaTauri. Fittipaldi will therefore do everything in his power to convince the 80-year-old of his abilities in the further course of the season in order to be able to have a say when it comes to awarding the cockpits for the 2024 season.
Ricciardo’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda’s contract expires at the end of the year, although Marko has not recently ruled out an extension. The future of Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, who is not untouchable despite his working paper until the end of 2024, is also uncertain.