Haas Formula 1 test driver Pietro Fittipaldi will return to single-seater competition in 2020 after sealing a full-time Super Formula seat.
Fittipaldi, the 2017 Formula V8 3.5 champion, made a solitary Super Formula outing in 2018, before his season was interrupted by leg fractures sustained in a high-speed crash in Belgium.
Fittipaldi returned to action in IndyCar but this year switched to DTM, competing for WRT Audi, alongside his reserve duties with the Haas Formula 1 team.
Earlier this week WRT Audi announced its 2020 line-up of IndyCar refugee Ed Jones and Formula 3 convert Fabio Scherer, confirming Fittipaldi’s departure.
Fittipaldi will instead compete in the Japan-based Super Formula championship for B-MAX Racing with Motopark.
The Brazilian youngster has targeted accumulating the additional four points he claims he needs to earn a Formula 1 Super Licence for 2021.
Ahead of his Super Formula season Fittipaldi will compete in the Formula 3 Asia Championship with Pinnacle Motorsport, which begins at former Malaysian Grand Prix venue Sepang this weekend.
Fittipaldi is expected to remain part of Haas’ roster in 2020 though opportunities to sample its Formula 1 car are likely to be reduced on account of the absence of in-season testing.
Fittipaldi took part in in-season running this year in Bahrain and Spain – alongside pre- and post-season runs – but those tests have been scrapped as part of a compromise for Formula 1 to expand to 22 grands prix.