Zachary Claman De Melo and Pietro Fittipaldi will share driving duties of Dale Coyne Racing’s No. 19 car through the 2018 IndyCar season.
Dale Coyne’s search for Sebastien Bourdais’ team-mate was sparked when Ed Jones switched to Ganassi, and the team ran Claman De Melo and Fittipaldi during testing.
Claman De Melo, fifth in last year’s Indy Lights standings, made his IndyCar debut with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing at the 2017 Sonoma finale, and will pilot the No. 19 at next month’s St. Pete opener and events at Long Beach and Barber.
Fittipaldi, meanwhile, claimed the final Formula V8 3.5 title in 2017 and tested in Formula 2, Formula E and Indy Lights, before being offered a chance by Dale Coyne.
Fittipaldi will debut at Phoenix in April, and attempt to qualify the car at the Indianapolis 500, as part of his seven-event deal, with the full schedule for each driver yet to be revealed.
Dale Coyne has also secured title sponsorship for the No. 19 car in the form of Paysafe.
“Paysafe helped me attain a life ambition last September when I made my IndyCar debut in Sonoma,” expressed Claman De Melo.
“I am hugely grateful for their ongoing support as I prepare for the forthcoming races; I feel proud to be representing their brand again on the race track and I shall be doing all I can to get the Paysafe car into victory lane!”
Fittipaldi added: “This is a dream come true, even more so to be racing in the Indy 500, where my family already has a history of great results.
“I want to thank the entire team at Dale Coyne Racing, along with my long-time sponsors, Escuderia Telmex and Paysafe for this massive opportunity and important step in my career.
“I’m very excited and proud to be racing on a world stage like IndyCar.”
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