Enzo Fittipaldi is starting to make the transition over to racing in North America, despite a few seasons in Europe’s junior categories.
With setting the world on fire, Formula 1 is hard to reach and it appears that the Brazilian is destined for another series, even at the age of 23.
Tony Kanaan, who enjoyed plenty of success in IndyCar and is now working within the McLaren team, helped Fittipaldi to secure a test.
While the team have no open seats for 2025, it was a chance to impress other potential suitors with a first real go in series machinery.
Enzo Fittipaldi gives ‘sharp’ feedback in ‘very important’ McLaren test
Fittipaldi has been a victim of Formula 2’s both unusual and irritating calendar over the past few months, which has left drivers with little to do.
A nearly three-month mid-season break means that drivers lose any momentum and flow that they had built up throughout the year before the final two races of the year.
Now he has to return to the fold in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to round the year off, before turning his attention to a potential IndyCar drive.
Speaking to the IndyCar YouTube channel after his test at the Thermal Club, he mentioned how precise he had to be with his feedback.
“We’re running the same compound, but it’s kind of slightly different for each track,” he said. “So they are slightly different in the compound, so it’s actually a very important test for the team.
“It’s also the first time for the team here with the hybrid unit. Interesting test, very important for my feedback to be sharp and to be spot on. It has been all day. I’m super happy.”
Can Fittipaldi achieve an IndyCar drive?
If Formula 1 was hard enough to get into, IndyCar isn’t much easier – even the experience Romain Grosjean has found that out.
His Juncos Hollinger Racing deal is yet to be renewed and there are rumours that Sting Ray Robb will take a seat there.
That’s bad news for Fittipaldi too, because it means that there now may be only four seats left on the grid, with a further one at Juncos, two at Dale Coyne Racing, and one vacated by his brother at Rahal Letterman Lanigan.
Whether or not he impressed enough with McLaren will be found out soon, but rumours spread quickly around the paddock.
He’s competing against the likes of Grosjean, Rinus VeeKay and axed F1 star Logan Sargeant, so maybe guaranteeing a seat for 2026 instead wouldn’t be such a bad idea.