Enzo Fittipaldi came close to securing a place in Formula 1 with the Red Bull-owned RB team for 2024, according to the driver’s consultant and investor, Pedro Boesel.
Fittipaldi was signed up to the Red Bull Driver Development Programme in late 2022 amid a positive season in Formula 2 which saw him rank eighth with six podiums.
The Brazilian, though, was unable to build on that impressive debut year in his sophomore campaign as, despite taking his maiden F2 win, he scored two fewer points.
Red Bull’s desire to reduce its driver roster saw Fittipaldi be dropped at the end of last season, though he continues to receive support from the Austrian-owned brand.
But according to Boesel, Fittipaldi could even have been racing in F1 with Red Bull’s sister team, now known as RB, in 2024 had certain conversations come to fruition.
“Last year Enzo had a meeting with the Red Bull top brass,” Boesel told Motorsport.com’s Brazilian outlet.
“He was called to this meeting and there they said that they had chosen him to drive for AlphaTauri at RB this year. He tested the Formula 1 [car].”
Boesel divulged that Fittipaldi’s test appearance happened once the British Grand Prix weekend had concluded, coinciding with when Daniel Ricciardo drove the RB19.
“It happened there after the Silverstone race [in July 2023], it was a private test, right there in Europe,” he disclosed.
Fittipaldi proceeded to bolster his prospects when he broke his win duck in F2 during the Belgian Grand Prix Sprint Race, backing that up with a podium in the Feature.
“From then on, he won the race at Spa, did a double podium: he won the Saturday race, and was third in the Sunday race,” he added.
Fittipaldi’s Red Bull chop bewilders Boesel
However, Fittipaldi’s results dipped over the remaining six races as three non-scores saw him come seventh, 79 points behind eventual F2 champion Theo Pourchaire.
Nevertheless, Boesel remains bewildered that Red Bull elected to oust Fittipaldi, who lies 13th in his third season in the second tier having changed teams once again.
“For some reason, Red Bull decided to send Enzo, who was the second best in F2 – [Ayumu] Iwasa was the best – out of the six drivers in the programme,” he stated.
“They sent the second, third, fourth and fifth out of the academy and kept the last one, who is [Isack] Hadjar. Nobody understands it, but it is what it is.”
Hadjar, though, has vindicated Red Bull’s trust in him as the Frenchman heads into the last two rounds in second place, four points behind F1-bound Gabriel Bortoleto.
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