Rich Energy Haas F1 Team’s simulator driver Pietro Fittipaldi will be in action in the upcoming F1 2019 Barcelona test with the regular drivers doing more work as expected.
After being signed as its simulator driver in 2018, Fittipaldi will get his second F1 outing with Haas in the upcoming Barcelona pre-season test. The Brazilian made his F1 debut in Abu Dhabi last year driving the VF-18 in the Pirelli test.
He will now get his hands on the VF-19 for half day of February 19 and February 20 where Fittipaldi will drive in the afternoon of Day 3 and morning of Day 4. “I’m really look forward to the test,” said Fittipaldi, grandson of two-time F1 champion, Emerson.
“I got to test the 2018 car at the end of last year and now I get to try the 2019 car in preseason testing. Any time you get to drive a Formula One car, it’s something you really look forward to.
“The main focus on the test will be to assist the team to develop the car as much as possible before the first race of the season. I’m sure there’ll be a lot of test items the team will want to go through.
“We’ll want to see how reliable the new car is, I’m sure we’ll be aiming for a lot of miles. The goal at the end of the day, as a driver, is to go as fast as possible, to drive the car as fast as you can, but it’s also to give the team really good feedback.
“That’s crucial to the development of the car before the first race. It’s been really good to be working with Romain and Kevin. They’re two great guys and we all get along well. That’s good for the team atmosphere.
“They’re experienced drivers in Formula One, so for me, I’m able to learn from them and feed off their experience. That’s really important for me.” Fittipaldi has already started his simulator work in the winter with the team since January.
Meanwhile, the physical launch of VF-19 is set for 8AM local time on February 18 near their garage in Barcelona, with Romain Grosjean the first to drive the 2019 car on Day 1 of the pre-season test with Kevin Magnussen taking over on Day 2.
Grosjean will continue on Day 3 in the morning with Fittipaldi taking over in the afternoon and continuing on Day 4’s morning session. Magnussen will end the test in the afternoon and will take over on Day 1 of the second test on February 26.
Fittipaldi will not drive in the second test with the regular drivers working on alternate days. After the Dane, Grosjean will drive on Day 2 and Day 4 (February 27 and March 1) with Magnussen’s final running before Melbourne on Day 3 (February 28).
Haas is already at Barcelona with a filming day schedule for today which will make them the fifth team to hit the track after Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, Toro Rosso and Alfa Romeo Racing. No other team has officially confirmed its test line-up so far.
2019 F1 launches so far:
