Formula 1 legend Emerson Fittipaldi has expressed his disappointment that his grandson Pietro was not given a seat as a contracted driver this season.
That surname is iconic in the sport thanks to the legacy the Brazilian left during his time as a racer. Emerson is a two-time world champion, a veteran of 144 races – 14 of which resulted in a victory – and stood on the podium a further 21 times.
His grandsons Enzo and Pietro both followed in his footsteps by chasing a career in motorsport. Both are yet to secure a place as a regular racer on the grid but Pietro, the elder of the two siblings, has two starts to his name having filled in for Romain Grosjean at the end of the 2020 season.
He remains the reserve driver for Haas, and so was a real contender for a main seat when Nikita Mazepin was sacked and the sponsorship deal with his father's company Uralkali was terminated. With just two weeks until the first race of the year, his familiarity with the team and the car gave him a good chance of landing the role.
However, in the end, the team decided to bring back their former driver Kevin Magnussen. Although not as familiar with the current car as Fittipaldi, the Dane knows the Haas crew well having left at the end of that 2020 season, and started strongly by qualifying seventh ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
It proved to be a promising session for Haas in general, as Mick Schumacher also made it to Q2 and will start Sunday's race in 12th. Fittipaldi may well have been watching on wondering what might have been, and his grandfather also wishes he had been able to see his surname on an F1 race track again.
"I was disappointed for Pietro for sure, because he is the reserve driver," the former world champion told VegasInsider. "But they made the decision with Kevin because they felt it was the best for the team right now.
"And you have to respect that, because they know more that we do about the capacity, talent and experience of Kevin. Kevin did really well and I hope the car will be faster this time. It will be interesting to see Kevin and Mick Schumacher running together."
Despite that disappointment over his family name not returning to the sport in 2022, Fittipaldi believes there could be plenty of positivity on the horizon for Haas this year. After two difficult years in which the sole goal was survival, the Brazilian has backed the American team to be competitive once again.
"They have been very fast in practice," he added. "But you know, it's difficult to see what tires they use and how much fuel they use, everything is very complex before the qualifiers.
"There could be another surprise there. The new rules can have some big surprises. McLaren doing well would not be a big surprise, because of their recent progression – going up, up, up. But Haas could be a big surprise for everybody. Could be one of the teams to make a big surprise."
